The Perfect Birthday
by Snikrap32
Summary: It's Gabriella's Sweet 16th and Troy wants to do all he can to make sure it's the best birthday ever... Note: The whole fic is basically a major fluff! Please read and review! Now COMPLETE
1. Happy Birthday Sleepyhead!

CHAPTER 1: Happy Birthday Sleepyhead

**Hi to everyone reading this! Um, this is my first attempt at fanfiction, so please be kind... and if you must criticize, please make sure its constructive.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or any of the characters used in this fic, I simply own the plot.**

"Good morning Ms. Montez," said Troy cheerfully, when Ms. Montez answered the door, "Is Gabriella up yet? We were planning to go out for breakfast this morning, for her birthday."

"Oh Troy, that's so sweet of you, taking Gabi out for breakfast… she's so lucky to have a friend like you," replied Ms. Montez smiling, Troy blushed a little, "You know, I don't think she's up yet, why don't you go up and wake her? I'm sure she won't mind."

"Umm… okay, thanks Ms. Montez," said Troy walking in the door and heading towards Gabriella's room, Ms. Montez shut the door behind him and turned to watch him walk up the stairs. Spotting the thin rectangular box he held in his hand, she shook her head and smiled, thinking _those two are so adorable!_

Troy arrived at Gabriella's door and knocked lightly at first, just in case she was already awake and changing or something. When there was no answer he tread quietly into the room glancing around her room. He smiled to himself… the room was very Gabriella, neat and tidy, slightly pinkish motif, a bookshelf full of novels, definitely more than he had ever read in his life. He glanced at her desk… he could see a closed textbook sitting there, labelled 'Enrichment Mathematics: Circle Geometry', he smiled again… '_what a smarty pants!'_ he thought to himself before quietly creeping over to her bed, where he could see Gabriella, sleeping on her side, her blanket lying just below the top of her shoulder. He could also see the top of the pillow that she was holding close to her side.

He rolled his eyes, smiling a little, _'trust Gabriella to sleep in, when we already made plans, and on her birthday too! Aww… but she looks so cute, sleeping like that, hugging that pillow… I wish I was that pillow…'_ thought Troy to himself blushing, _'today's gonna be the day, its going to be perfect and she'll finally know how I feel! That's if I can ever get her up that is…'_ Troy just stood there for a moment, unsure of how to go about this. Slowly he sat next to her on the bed and put his hand up to gently shake her shoulder.

Troy shook her gently but she didn't wake up, instead she scrunched up her eyes and snuggled deeper into the bed pulling up her blanket over her shoulder.

"Just 5 more minutes please mum… I'm dreaming… I'm dreaming about…" Gabriella yawned and Troy could have sworn he heard her whisper his name, "…Troy." It was so faint, he wasn't sure he heard it, but his heart stopped anyway.

Troy sat in silent shock, questions racing through his head, _'Did she just say…? Did she mean…?'_ Suddenly, Troy realised he wasn't breathing and sucked in some much needed air_. 'Okay I really have to wake her up now, before I hear things she might not want me to… although that doesn't mean I don't want to hear them… maybe I could…? Stop it Troy!'_ his brain hissed furiously, _'This is Gabriella you're talking about here! You can't take advantage of her like that!'_

So once again, Troy tried to shake her awake but, once again, she didn't respond, 'Wow… she's a pretty deep sleeper, maybe she's just having a good dream… about me… Stop it! You're doing it again!' It became clear to Troy that this method was really not working, so he decided to try something else. Grinning quietly to himself he cleared his throat and while continuing to gently shake her shoulder, he started to sing softly,

"This could be the start of something new… it feels so right to be here with you… ooohhhh… and now looking in your eyes…"

"I feel in my heart…" whispered Gabriella, starting to stir.

"The start of something new…" they both finished of together, Gabriella opening her eyes and turning to look at Troy, "Troy…?"

"Hey… Happy Birthday sleepyhead! Did you forget about our breakfast da… I mean… appointment?" replied Troy, quickly trying to cover his mistake. Fortunately for him, Gabriella didn't even notice.

"Oh, it's my birthday!" she cried sitting up, a smile emerging on her face. Troy grinned back happily.

"Yep, you better get up its like 9am already, lots of stuff to do today! C'mon get up and get in that bathroom, I'll wait here while you get ready," ordered Troy taking her hand and pulling her out of the bed.

"Okay Daaaddd! Whatever you say… what are we doing today anyway? I have a right to know, it's MY birthday, isn't it?" asked Gabriella innocently, being sure to contort her face into an innocent pout and looking gently into Troy's eyes.

"Ohhh no! You are NOT pulling that on me today, so don't even try it… I told you yesterday and the day before, that it's a surprise! Now go and get ready!" cried Troy folding his arms and sitting stubbornly on her bed, as he did so he was careful to conceal his gift in his folded arms.

"Fine! Have it your way, then! Hmmph!" responded Gabriella in mock anger, stamping her foot at the same time to add effect and then poking out her tongue at him, before walking into the bathroom. Troy laughed at her antics and fell back on her bed staring at the ceiling.

He pulled out the box he was concealing, staring at it intently. The box was a fairly thin rectangular shape, much like a necklace box… _'I wonder if she'll like it… well she'll certainly be surprised, I doubt it's what she would expect,' _thought Troy grinning to himself. Sitting up Troy continued to fondle the box, gently running his fingers over it as he looked around the room thinking, _'I hope today goes well, I've spent so much time preparing it…' _Troy looked towards the closed bathroom door of her bedroom (its an ensuite with the closet adjoining the bathroom) where he could hear her singing softly to herself and smiled, _'but she's totally worth every second.'_

Troy looked around the room again, happy to be just where he was… actually he'd be happier still if a certain someone was there beside him, instead of the next room, but he was willing to live with just this, just now. Troy smiled to himself, his friendship with Gabriella just got better and better everyday. He had already decided that she was most definitely the best friend he ever had, it was now spring and the winter musical had long since past… the opening night had been wonderful, the whole thing going off without a hitch, and the sight of Gabriella that night had just taken his breath away. _'She's so beautiful and not just that night… everything about her is just so… wonderful!'_ thought Troy subconsciously slipping into a dreamy montage of memories of his short but blissful time together, _'And we're only friends! Imagine what we could be if we were anything more!'_ Images of Gabriella's smile, her movements, the looks she gave him, flitted across his mind, while sounds of her laughter and her voice, whether singing or talking echoed through his mind.

Not long had Troy sunken into his 'daydream' that Gabriella finished grooming herself and came out of the bathroom, only to find Troy, sitting on her bed, with a dazed expression on his face. Gabriella walked up to stand in front of him, noting as she did, that he still hadn't realised she was there. She moved to wave her hand in front of his face but decided at the same time that the sight was rather comical and moved her hand to her mouth instead to stifle the chuckle that just escaped her lips. She was not quick enough of course, as her giggle seemed to be loud enough to snap Troy out of his daze. His eyes refocused and he realised with surprise that Gabriella was standing in front of him with a coy grin on her face. He then realised after this, what had happened and his face reddened to such a degree, that Gabriella noticed his awareness too. She laughed at him and moved away to get her jacket.

"Gee, I'm sorry I took so long getting ready that you were reduced to daydreams to relieve your boredom Troy," said Gabriella with a smile, "I'll have to remember to leave you with something to do next time!"

Troy blushed even redder and Gabriella giggled, "It's nothing to be embarrassed about Troy, everyone daydreams… perhaps not so deeply, but still we all do it. Now are you coming or not, because I'm starving, aren't you?"

"Erm… yeah I am, now that I think of it, but wait! Before we go, I wanted to give you you're present," Troy said getting up and walking towards her, holding the rectangular box out towards her, "I hope you like it…"

Gabriella took the box from him, looking down at it. She noticed at once, what it looked like… it looked like one of those boxes that are used to gift-wrap jewellery, specifically necklaces. She looked up at Troy, surprise etched across her face, _'Is this what I think it is?'_ Troy was rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, _'Is he… nervous?'_ She looked back down at the package, moving as if to open it when…

"Oh wait, I forget to give you the card," said Troy reaching into his jacket and pulling out a card which he held out for her. Gabriella took it and proceeded to open it, "I'm sorry it's a little rough, but I… I wanted to give you something special and I didn't think just buying one was special enough."

Gabriella looked down at the card in her hand. It was obviously handmade, but it wasn't a botchy job, it was clear he'd spent a long time on it. The card was red and on the front was a hand drawn picture of a colourful sponge cake with the words, 'Happy Sweet 16th' was scrawled neatly on the top in a fancy looking font.

"I put 16 candles on the cake, because that's how old you are, and the card is red because I know you like that colour… the cake has many colours on it because you're such a happy and colourful person… and… you hate it don't you?" said Troy disappointedly, looking down at his feet, "I should have just bought you a card… I'm sorry…"

Gabriella didn't answer straight away; she just shook her head as she slowly opened the card. There was nothing much inside, just a few drawn balloons, but Troy had written his own message inside,

_Happy Sweet 16th Gabriella,_

_I hope you have the greatest day of your life,_

_And all your wishes come true today,_

_Because you deserve it, _

_You're the best friend I've ever had,_

_I'm so glad I met you!_

_Love Troy_

Gabriella just stood there for a few seconds, not knowing what to say… It was the sweetest thing any boy, or in fact anyone had ever written her. Troy meanwhile, stood rigid, almost certain he'd made a mistake, he tried to discern her feelings but her face only displayed shock, until… he noticed a single tear, roll down her cheek and as she looked up at him, he noticed her eyes were all watery.

Troy groaned inside, "Oh I'm sooo sorry Gabriella! Don't cry!" he almost wailed. Troy moved to turn away, he'd done the wrong thing… but then he felt a hand on his arm, turning him back and next thing he knew Gabriella had thrown herself on him, burying her face in his chest.

"Oh Troy… thank you! This is the nicest and most beautiful card, I've ever received!" she gushed, much to Troy's relief, he relaxed and put his arms around her.

"It was nothing, I just wanted it to be special…" he replied.

"Oh it's beautiful," said Gabriella, pulling away, much to Troy's dismay.

"So what's in the box then?" asked Gabriella smiling, suddenly playful. Troy gulped, his nerves suddenly returned, _'Oh no, how's she going to react? After giving her that card, I give her this gift? She's gonna think I'm a total dunderhead Shh… Troy, calm down! It's got to be this way; you planned it this way, remember? Now relax…actually this might be interesting, she'll be surprised, and that's for sure.' _Troy thought, grinning to himself, as Gabriella slowly opened the box…

**So what's in that box? I know! Tell me if you want to know to, I'm curious about how many people are curious... lol. Review please! I want to hear from you!**


	2. Breakfast & That Infamous Box!

**Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all the reviews, I'm so surprised at the response to my fic, it's fantastic! You guys are great, I've honestly got a smile on my face that I can't get rid of lol! So anyway here's the next chapter, you get to find out what's in the box!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or any of the characters mentioned in this fic. I only own the plot.**

CHAPTER 2: Breakfast and that Infamous Box!

Gabriella's heart was absolutely racing, _'Omg, what could be in this box?' _she felt both nervous and excited at the same time. She couldn't deny that the shape of the box caused her brain to jump to outlandish conclusions about its contents… she also couldn't deny that the very thought of these conclusions caused her heart to thump around a thousands beats per minute, _'This is it…" _thought Gabriella excitedly as she opened the box, biting her lower lip, _'… finally! Troy's making a mov…. What the…!' _

The expression on Gabriella's face quickly changed from a sort of anxious excitement, to a look of utter confusion. Troy who was watching her carefully, noticed this and grinned quietly to himself, _'Here we go…'_

"Oh… Troy… I… I love it," said Gabriella uncertainly, pulling out her gift, "… a pen… just what I needed… thank you."

"It's a not just any pen, it's a Delta Solaris Rollerball," said Troy smiling, "I just figured that because of school and whatnot, you'll always need a pen, and its refillable so you can keep it forever… and now every time you use that pen, you'll think of me."

Gabriella smiled slightly at this, bending her head to look down closely at the pen. _"'…every time you use that pen, you'll think of me', awe that's sweet… but a pen! I was expecting a… or even a… but a… but a pen! This is certainly a surprise…' _thought Gabriella. In any case it was a pretty good pen, it looked quite reliable, and the design was nice. It was one of those click-top rollerball pens that usually come in those rectangular boxes. It was black with red rings, three around the centre and one more on the click-top, and it had silver coloured accents. **(A/N: okay, I'm sorry that I'm not explaining it very well… if you want to actually see what it looks like, click the link on my homepage)** Gabriella turned it around in her hands and was surprised to find her name, engraved in red on the side _'Gabriella Montez…' _Gabriella smiled to herself, _'It is a pretty sweet gift, even if it's not what I expected…'_

She looked up into Troy's eyes, smiling, "It's beautiful Troy, thank you," she said softly.

"You're welcome, but I can tell you're not overly pleased. Were you expecting something else?" Troy asked, raising his eyebrows. Gabriella blushed shaking her head.

"No… of course not, why, what should I have been expecting?" she asked, embarrassed at how ungrateful she must seem.

"I don't know, but it doesn't seem like you got it… I wouldn't worry though," said Troy smiling as Gabriella looked away, _'She's so wonderful… I can tell she's a little disappointed but she pretends to love it anyway!'_

"I… I wasn't… wait, why is that?" she asked curiously.

Troy walked past her out the door, saying mysteriously as he did so, "… because the day's not over yet…"

Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at his words, _'What is that supposed to mean?' _she was about to ask but then she realised he'd already retreated down the stairs… sighing she followed him down.

Gabriella walked down the stairs and into the living room to find, Troy chatting with her mother. The two turned to look at her, when she walked into the room.

"Happy Birthday Gabi! Sixteen today! Oh, my baby girl is growing up so fast," gushed Ms. Montez, hugging Gabriella in a warm embrace.

"Thanks mum! And mum… _didn't we talk about you using the B-word while there are people present?_" whispered Gabriella into her mother's ear, hoping desperately that Troy didn't hear… He did though, and he laughed, causing Gabriella to blush and Ms. Montez to smile broadly.

"Oh Gabi, let it go, just this once… Troy doesn't seem to mind, and plus you'll always be my baby," replied Ms. Montez, kissing her on the forehead, "Now you two better be off, it's getting late in the morning, and from what Troy tells me, you to are in for a big day."

"From what Troy tells you…? Wait, Troy told you what we were doing, but he won't tell me!" cried Gabriella, looking from her mother to Troy, and back to her mother, pouting all the while, "How is that fair!"

"It's fair because, it's not your mother's birthday, it's yours, and it's supposed to be a surprise! Now c'mon we've wasted enough time already," answered Troy, taking Gabriella's hand and pulling her out the door, "Goodbye Ms. Montez, we'll leave you to do whatever you want now."

"Grrr! Fine then! See you later mum! Have a good day!" said Gabriella, blowing her mum a kiss as Troy dragged her out the door.

"Okay sweetie, see you later! Oh, and Troy?" called out Ms. Montez, Troy stopped to look at her, "Be sure not to keep her out too late, I wouldn't want her to be late for… dinner."

Ms. Montez gave Troy a meaningful look as she said this, and Troy understood what she meant, "Don't worry Ms. Montez, I won't," replied Troy, "7 o'clock!" he waved as he lead Gabriella down the street, not letting go of her hand.

The two walked on down the street, Gabriella followed Troy, still unsure of where they were going, Troy wouldn't even tell her where they were having breakfast. Neither spoke for awhile, both caught up in their thoughts of the other, but both very aware that they were still holding hands and again both not wanting to initiate the let go.

"Troy what did mum mean back there, _Be sure not to keep her out too late_?" asked Gabriella, suspicious of the way her mother had looked at Troy.

"Nothing," replied Troy said a little too quickly, "she just didn't want you to be late for dinner. Don't forget I'm stealing you away for most of the day; she probably just wants to make sure she gets to spend at least a little time with her daughter on her daughter's birthday."

"Oh okay… I guess that's fair enough," they walked on, not realising that the fingers on their fused hands had, by now, intertwined.

They walked on in content silence, neither wanting to ruin the moment until Troy realised they were almost at their destination and had no choice but to break the mood. He looked down, hesitant, and noticed their intertwined hands… he blushed, thinking that they looked so right together, Gabriella's hand intertwined with his. Gabriella looked down to, curious about what he was looking at and blushed the same as Troy at what she saw, embarrassed she let go of his hand quickly, looking away. Troy blushed again, before saying,

"We're almost there, do you mind shutting your eyes for the rest of the way?" asked Troy nervously, _'Is she going to like this?'_

Gabriella looked around confused, they seemed to just be in a normal neighbourhood, there was a park just down the street and houses but no store where they could get breakfast, "… what's going on?" she asked confused.

"You just have to trust me, okay?" replied Troy looking at her, Gabriella nodded and closed her eyes. Troy put one arm around her shoulder and the other on her arm, securing her so he could lead them to their destination.

He lead her down the street towards the park and as the walked onto the grass, Chad and Taylor appeared behind a tree, sitting beside the picnic that Troy had organised before he went to Gabriella's house. He mouthed a "thank you" to the two of them for guarding the spread as they got up to leave quietly, Taylor mouthing a residing "Aww…" at how adorable the two of them looked together as Chad led her away.

When they'd gone, Troy motioned for Gabriella to stand still and whispered in her ear, "You can open you're eyes now." Gabriella did as she was told and as she did so, her eyes widened in shock at what lay in front of her. _'Omg, it's beautiful!' _she looked over at Troy, who was smiling at her, _'You're so full of surprises today Troy… you're so sweet and you look so adorable,'_ thought Gabriella to herself, looking back at the spread. There was a large picnic blanket spread on the grass, with a picnic basket sitting on top to keep it down, as well as an array of plates of different foods; muffins, pancakes, bread, fruit… spread out on the blanket.

"Oh Troy… It's wonderful, I don't know how you did all this… it must have taken you ages," said Gabriella softly, her voice resonating her awe.

"Yeah… but I didn't do it all on my own, I mean my mother helped me with the pancakes and the muffins, and that bakery guy sure knows how to bake bread… and where would we be without the farmer to grow the fruit and… and I'm rambling again, aren't I?" Gabriella nodded, smiling, though Troy stilled seemed unsure, "But it is okay, isn't it? I mean you like it, because you don't have to eat it we can just leave it and go out to some café or something instea…"

"Troy stop, its fine! Stop worrying, it's fantastic!" said Gabriella interrupting Troy's ramblings and stopping his lips with her finger. She smiled and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, causing Troy to blush considerably, "Thank you so much, it's wonderful… no actually, it's perfect."

Troy grinned, clearly pleased, "Well let's eat! Shall we madam?" he asked holding his hand out towards the food in a gentleman-like gesture that Gabriella understood to mean, 'ladies first'. Gabriella giggled, walking over to sit down and Troy followed smiling broadly.

**So what did you think? Is it what you were expecting? What does have Troy planned for Gabriella next? I know! But I'm not telling you yet, lol! You'll just have to wait and see! Review please, I love getting feedback!**


	3. Fun with Breakfast

**Hey again! Here's the next chapter… I wasn't going to update today, but I decided I couldn't help myself, lol! Also this was only supposed to be short chappie, a kind of teaser for the next one, but I got carried away and decided to treat you guys to some mega fluff instead, hope you enjoy! Oh and by the way, I seem to have gotten into a habit of replying to most of your reviews… I hope you guys don't mind but if you do, let me know and I'll make a mental note not to message you. :)  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or any of the characters featured in this story. I only own the plot.**

CHAPTER 3: Fun with Breakfast

Troy and Gabriella both sat on the picnic blanket, a little bit apart but still half facing each other. Troy reached out and started carefully pulling of the gladwrap that covered everything… he held out a plate of muffins to Gabriella, who took one smiling. He continued with what he was doing but couldn't help glancing up at her eating the muffin, she saw him watching her and blushed slightly, Troy blushed too, looking away. When he looked back up a second later, he was surprised to find the muffin gone! He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Wow! You sure finished that in hurry, Miss Montez… Gee, you must have been pretty hungry!" said Troy grinning as Gabriella blushed again. A sudden thought occurred to him and he smirked playfully, eyeing her suspiciously.

"… Hey, wait a second… you finished that a little fast, are you sure you actually ate it or was it sooo bad you chucked it away when I wasn't looking?" he asked, pretending to look around for evidential muffin bits on the ground.

Gabriella laughed and punched him softly on the arm, "Haha, of course not! How could you ask me such a thing?" she replied in mock offence.

Suddenly Gabriella became playful, giving Troy a suggestive look and dropping her voice in a flirty manner, "Actually, the truth is Troy… I enjoyed it sooo much that I couldn't get it down fast enough," she batted her eyelids at him, giggling like a love-struck schoolgirl and continued softly in the same tone, "You're a really good baker… you're sooo… talented."

Troy tensed, forgetting for a second that she was joking, he returned her look with an intense one of his own, "Oh really… even better than Zeke?" he asked leaning towards her instinctively.

"Oh yeah… definitely better than Zeke," she replied, also leaning forward and looking deep into his eyes. They were soon mere inches away, so close that they could both hear the other's sudden quickness in breath and the increased rapidity of heartbeats in their chests._ 'This is it…" _thought Gabriella… _'Here we go,' _thought Troy and just as they closed their eyes and leaned in, Troy's stomach proudly demonstrated its perfect timing, by rumbling loudly. Their eyes snapped open and Troy cursed his stomach silently, thinking _'Why God? Why?'_. Meanwhile Gabriella started laughing, moving away from Troy, shaking her head. Troy looked at her, also seeing the funny side and started laughing too.

"Haha! It looks like you spent too much time scrutinising the way I ate _my_ muffin, that you neglected your own stomach!" laughed Gabriella, handing him a muffin, "You better feed it quickly I think it's angry with you!"

Troy took it from her laughing, "I guess I better keep my opinions to myself next time," he replied taking a bite.

The two were silent then, Gabriella taking a plate of pancakes for herself and handing one to Troy, who took it gratefully, smiling at her. They ate in silence, both replaying the events of the last 5 minutes in their minds, their brains thinking fervently, _'Did that just happen? … I mean did that_ _ALMOST just happen? Oh my goodness, I think we were gonna… We almost… I almost… kissed Troy Bolton!'_ thought Gabriella, eyes wide; she couldn't believe what almost happened. Sure he almost kissed her on Triple Threat Day, except Chad interrupted, but he hadn't tried again since, both seeming to fall into a comfortable friendship. Gabriella covertly glanced at Troy, hoping he wouldn't notice… he was looking down at his food, his eyebrows furrowed; he seemed to be in deep thought. _'Does he feel the same way, or did he just get caught up in the moment? I think he feels the same way as me, but who knows? He never says anything or does anything about it if he does…'_ she thought to herself, _'But we did almost just kiss, just then… so maybe there is something there…'_

Meanwhile Troy's brain was thinking just as frantically… he was heavily cursing his stomach for its timing, almost screaming at himself, _'Why! Two minutes! Just two minutes! Actually one would've been fine, or even 30 seconds… 10 perhaps, is pushing it, but even that would've been better than... than... that! … Though on the bright side, she had seemed just as willing as me. Should I just come right out and say it now?' _he thought, confused about his feelings, he glanced at her quickly before looking away again. He thought she looked confused, uncertain… _'Maybe she's just as unsure as me… we make such good friends, she's probably uncertain about whether we should be more… Okay I'm gonna wait… wait for just the right time,'_ and if everything went the way he planned, he knew when the right time would be... Troy smiled, suddenly feeling happy again, pleased with his decision.

Gabriella continued to eat, absentmindedly picking at her food… she glanced at Troy again and saw that he was smiling again. She smiled too, _'Oh good, nothing's changed, I was afraid he'd get all awkward on me.'_ She continued watching him eat but soon got sick of the serious feeling in the air and decided to lighten it. She felt suddenly playful again and smirking she picked up a muffin, broke off a piece and she chucked it at him, hitting him the chest. He looked up in shock to see Gabriella laughing at him and a broad grin spread across his face.

"Ohhh... Gabriella Montez! You did NOT just do that!" he cried in mock anger, she laughed in response, picking up the muffin portion he chucked it back at her, accidentally overthrowing it.

She laughed hysterically as it missed her, flying over her shoulder to hit the grass. Troy watched her, as she rolled around laughing on the picnic blanket.

"Haha, Troy the basketball superstar can't even hit a target less than a metre away!" she laughed, wiping away some tears that had appeared on her cheeks, "I don't know how you managed to win the championship with an aim like that, you must have fluked it!"

"Aww… whatever Gabriella! I'm just so strong that I misjudged the throw," he replied grinning and flexing his biceps. Gabriella laughed again, rolling her eyes at him.

"Yeah okay _muscle man_, whatever you say…" suddenly she put the back of her hand up to her forehead, as if she was checking her temperature and dramatically feigned awe at Troy's manliness, "Oh, Troy! What a big strong man you are! Just look at those biceps… their massive!"

Troy laughed, she sounded like a gushing cheerleader. Gabriella laughed too and chucked another piece of muffin at him, this time it hit him in the cheek.

"HEY! Didn't your mother ever teach you that it's bad manners to play with your food?" he asked sternly, successfully keeping a straight face.

"She tried, that's the only lesson I ever failed," she replied winking, and threw another piece of muffin. It hit him on the nose.

"Okay that's it! Someone's got to teach you a lesson and it might as well be me!" declared Troy, advancing towards her. Gabriella saw him move and got up to run away, letting out a squeal of laughter.

Troy reached out for her but she moved just out of his grasp, laughing and running off across the park. Troy smiled chasing after her, _'Where does she think she's going? She can't get away from me!'_

Gabriella ran, laughing uncontrollably, towards the playground equipment, looking for some sort of escape from Troy. Troy was gaining on her and the closest thing around was a teeter totter… so she moved around it until the teeter totter was directly between them. She laughed at Troy on the other side of the equipment and poked out her tongue at him. He widened his eyes and dropped his jaw in mock disbelief at her action. He faked movement to the right, as if he was going to come around and Gabriella moved to her right as well, instinctively keeping the play set between her and Troy. He laughed and moved to the left, Gabriella also moving to the left.

"You think you can stay away from me, Montez?" he asked laughing. Gabriella looked pensive for a second before looking him in the eye and nodding cheekily. Troy laughed again.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you Miss Montez, but… you're wrong!" he cried, springing over the top of the teeter totter and taking Gabriella by surprise. She squealed, astonished by his action and turned to run away again. She wasn't able to get very far before he caught her, putting his arms around her waist and lifting her in the air, spinning her around.

"Hey put me down!" cried Gabriella. Troy moved as if to do so, but at the last second he started tickling her madly, causing her to contort in surprise and squeal hysterically. As she twisted away she turned towards him and Troy lost his balance, effectively making him fall down on top of her. The two of them continued laughing on the ground, not realising their position. Gabriella was sprawled on her back on the grass her hands on Troy's shoulders, which she'd seized to stop her falling (not that it helped much), and Troy was laying on top of her, his hands on either side of her body, propping him up.

"See what you did, Montez? You made me fall over!" he laughed looking down at her.

"Me! I didn't _make_ you chase me!" she replied smiling up at him.

"Yes you did! You chucked a muffin at me! Didn't you know that that translates in English as _'chase me, I'm asking for it'_?" replied Troy in a high-pitched girly voice, making her laugh again.

The two of them looked at each other intently, once the laughter had subsided, both realising their respective positions, but neither making any effort to move. '_Oh my goodness! Here we are again… and in the space of less than half an hour! How does this keep happening!' _screamed out Gabriella's mind, she bit her lip and Troy smiled as he watched her to do so. _'Dude! What happened to your plan! … she happened' _he thought, answering his own question. He saw a piece of hair stuck to her face and reached his left hand up to move it away and as he did so he saw the time on his watch face. His eyes widened and he froze, _'Oh crap, look at the time! It's almost 11am! I almost forgot about the…'_

"Oh God, we're gonna be late, we've got to go now!" cried Troy getting up off her, breaking the moment again, he seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Gabriella looked at him, confused.

"Late for wha…" began Gabriella but Troy yanked her to her feet before she could finish.

"C'mon let's go," said Troy pulling her by the hand.

"Bu… But what about the food, you can't just leave all that stuff there!" cried Gabriella, as Troy pulled her away.

"Don't worry about it, I'll call Chad to come and get rid of it," answered Troy hurriedly, pulling out his phone to call Chad. Gabriella just sighed and followed him, she had no choice, he was still holding her hand.

"Hey Chad!" greeted Troy, when Chad picked up.

"_Troy… aren't you supposed to be with Gabriella?" _

"Yeah I'm with her now… listen I lost track of time at the picnic and we're now running late for the…" Troy quickly glanced at Gabriella before whispering, "… the '_thing'_."

"_What 'thing'?"_ answered Chad, adding emphasis to the word _'thing'_ just like Troy did. He wasn't catching on.

"The _thing_!" hissed Troy, exasperated. Gabriella just looked on, confused. "Stop being dumb Chad, you know what I'm talking about!"

There was silence for a moment before, "_Oh! Right the 'thing'… sorry!_"

"Well anyway we kinda had to leave in a hurry so I was wondering if you could go to the park and clear up the picnic?"

"_Yeah sure, no problem… I'll get Taylor to come with me._"

"Thanks man, I owe you one."

"_No problem… and goodluck! … Oh and Taylor says to tell Gabriella happy birthday from the both of us,_" said Chad on the phone, "_she says she wants all the details later!_"

Troy laughed, hanging up. "Chad says to tell you, happy birthday from him and Taylor, and Taylor wants to hear all the details later," relayed Troy to Gabriella.

"Oh okay… Troy where are we going?" asked Gabriella, not really expecting an answer but trying anyway. Troy wouldn't tell her anything about what was happening today, "What are we late for?"

She was surprised to see Troy suddenly start twitching nervously, he lifted his free hand and started rubbing his neck, "Erm… you… you'll find out soon, I promise… it's a… a… surprise," he replied. Gabriella found his tone a little disconcerting.

Gabriella felt nervous all of a sudden, "Is… Is this going to be… a good surprise?" she asked, a little bit unsure.

Troy looked around as he walked, as if looking for an answer to the question in his surroundings, "Erm… erm… I… I don't know… I think so…" he replied vaguely, "You'll find out soon enough..."

**Okay that's it for this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a review and stay tuned for the next chapter! What has Troy got planned now? Dun dun dun… (dramatic music ensues) Thanks for reading:)**


	4. What've you got us into?

**Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter, just like I promised! Sorry it's a bit short I was going to make it longer but then I got to a point and just decided it felt right to leave it there... :) Hope you enjoy it, this chap isn't quite as fluffy but it's got a bit of conflict!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or any of the characters so far mentioned in the fic. **

CHAPTER 4: Oh god Troy… What've you got us into?

Troy and Gabriella walked in silence… Both kind of lost in their thoughts… Troy was thinking about how Gabriella might react to this next development, his brain simulating every possible reaction he could think of… and so far the prospects didn't look so promising, _'I think she's gonna be mad! I should have asked her first! It's too late now, we're already committed… oh Troy, what were you thinking man? … I was thinking she'd be a little shocked at first, perhaps annoyed… but she'd get over it in the end and would probably end up enjoying herself…' _Troy brightened a little at this thought… he'd forgotten that he'd already thought all this through. Suddenly he felt calm again and relaxed noticeably, his back straightened, he slowed his walk a little and he stopped looking down at the ground, he even laughed out loud at his recent panic attack.

Gabriella looked at him with eyebrows raised, surprised at his sudden change in character. She felt even more confused and in the dark now, _'What is the go with Troy! One second he seems to be completely freaking out, which causes me to freak out… and the next he's laughing at thin air! How am I supposed to feel now!' _thought Gabriella incredulously, '_Gah! Why does he have to be so secretive… sure I love surprises but this is like emotional turmoil...! That's it! I can't take it anymore!'_.

"Troy…! What's going on! Where are we going!" she cried out, stamping her foot and eying him with a serious expression, "Troy Bolton, I am not walking another step until you tell me what's going on!"

Troy just looked at her, surprised by her outcry, _'Wow… and she doesn't even know about the "thing" yet… Oh, this is NOT good sign…'_ Gabriella looked at him beseechingly, but he didn't respond.

"Troy, I'm getting all confused with all your changing moods! One second you seem agitated and nervous, making _me_ feel agitated and nervous, and then the next you're laughing to yourself! What are you like bipolar or something!" she asked, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration.

Despite himself, Troy couldn't help smirking at this, _'Bipolar… She's so cute when she's angry'_, but the smile quickly vanished at the site of her glare, "I mean it Troy... I'm not moving until you explain yourself."

"Well…" said Troy with a nervous laugh, "you… you don't have to… we're… already here."

Gabriella looked at him, clearly confused and he gestured with a hand at the building they were standing in front of. Gabriella turned her head to gaze where he was pointing, and looked the building up and down.

"Elliot Rocke Children's Home…?" said Gabriella confused, as she read the sign on the door, "Troy… I don't understand…"

"Um okay, you know how I told you that my mum works in a children's orphanage?" asked Troy and Gabriella nodded in response, not sure as to where this was going, "Well… this is it and they're kinda holding a concert/recital thing today… you know where the kids do some performances and so on and people donate money?"

Gabriella nodded, "… erm, okay… but what does that have to do with us?"

"Well… I… well I ma… well we may…" Troy was stumbling on his words, apparently he couldn't get it out. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second, before continuing.

"I-may-have-offered-our-services-for-the-concert," said Troy in a rush, looking at her uncertainly.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows, "You may have offered our services?" she repeated and Troy nodded, looking down.

"Yeah my mum was getting all stressed about it, she said she was afraid it would be a complete disaster… and then she asked me for 'our' help…" explained Troy, looking at Gabriella carefully, he was still unsure about her reaction.

"Um okay… this is sooo not what I was expecting… You know that you really should have asked me first, right?" asked Gabriella looking at him, and he nodded sheepishly, "But I guess it's okay… anything to help out the kids, right? … so what did she want us to do? Usher people to their seats, hand out programs, help set up the stage…?"

Troy gave her an uneasy grin and looked away, sticking his hands into his pockets and cuffing his foot on the ground… An uneasy feeling suddenly gripped Gabriella's stomach and her eyes widened anxiously.

"Oh god Troy… What've you got us into?"

**Okay, there you go guys! haha I don't think I really cleared up any questions... but I did offer a few more clues, lol!**


	5. Impromptu Performance

**Alright! Update! Woohoo! Here's the next chapter everyone… you get to actually find out what Troy was so nervous about! And sorry again about the shortness of the previous chap… think of it as a filler. Enjoy:)  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM, nor do I own or have any claim whatsoever to any of the HSM characters mentioned in this fic.**

CHAPTER 5: Impromptu Performance

"Oh god Troy… What've you got us into?"

Troy looked at her, unsure as to how to respond, _'Well I guess I better just come right out and say it…'_

"Um, well okay… the thing is, we may have to…" Gabriella felt herself tense up even more… she was afraid she already knew what he was going to say next, "sing…"

Gabriella closed her eyes… it _was_ as she feared. She took a deep breath unsure as to how to react, _'Ohh Troy… why…? Why didn't you tell me this before?'_

"Troy… you know this would have been _really_ good information to know… like yesterday! Or even this morning!" said Gabriella opening her eyes to look at him, "How can make a decision for me like that and just expect me to be okay it?"

"I… I don't know… I'm sorry, I was afraid you'd… you'd say no…" said Troy looking at his feet again.

"And what… you thought by dragging me here without my knowing that everything I would just say yes?" asked Gabriella, her voice rising unintentionally.

"Well no… but I thought if you came here it might help your decision," he said slowly, looking her in the eye, "C'mon Gabriella… it'll be fun! It's not like we haven't done this kind of thing before."

"Yeah I know but… it's still a shock…" replied Gabriella. A sudden thought crossed her mind and she looked at Troy, a hurt expression emerging on her face, "How are you to know that I wouldn't have said yes, if you'd asked me before? … I _like_ children and I feel bad about the fact that some of them don't have loving families… why would you think I'd just say no… do you think I don't care or something? Do you think I'm heartless, Troy?"

A small tear slid slowly down the side of Gabriella's cheek, and Troy's eyes widened in concern, he hated seeing her upset, and he especially disliked the fact it was he who caused her to feel this way. He took a stepped towards her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Oh no, no… Gabriella, no… It's not like that at all! Please don't think like that…" said Troy, his voice cracking slightly, "I think you are the kindest, sweetest, and most wonderful and caring person I know… I know you love children and... and I would _never_ think you didn't care…"

Gabriella's face softened a little at this, her heart felt a little touched and part of her felt a little guilty as she looked at Troy and saw how hurt and concerned he was. Another part again, that part being her shoulders tingled at the softness of his touch, _'he always gives me goosebumps when he touches me…'_ Gabriella mentally slapped herself, _'Stop thinking like that! Now's not the time!'_

"Well, why would you think I'd react so badly to this performance thing?" she asked quietly.

"I have no idea… thinking about it now, I don't know why I was so worried… I guess I just thought… Well I guess I wanted to give you another surprise and then I panicked when I saw that we were running late…" he decided finally, grinning sheepishly at her. She smiled slightly in return and Troy felt his shoulders relax.

"Well anyway, I know it's a bit short notice but I was just wondering if you would like to perform with me in the Elliot Rocke Children's Home donation concert?" asked Troy taking his hands away from her shoulders and giving her a coy smile.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" asked Gabriella flashing him a small smile and raising an eyebrow.

Troy laughed and shook his head waiting for her answer… Gabriella looked him up and down, pretending to consider it seriously…

"Well… I suppose I could give up some of my time to sing with you," she replied grinning.

"Great! That's good news…" said Troy. He held out his arm for her in a gentleman-like way, "Well, shall we? We're kinda late, I think the concert has started already… good thing we're the last act."

Gabriella didn't even hesitate; she took his arm, laughing and let him lead her into the building.

The two took a flight of stairs to the second floor, and Gabriella looked over to her right to see an open set of double doors, displaying a room, that looked much like a cafeteria, full of sitting people, watching a poetic performance by a little girl with a lisp. Gabriella smiled at the display, leaning nearer to Troy to whisper, "Aww… she's sooo cute!"

Troy smiled in response and motioned for him to follow him past the door and down the hall. Turning right he led her to another set of open double doors, leading into the same room, but closer to the temporary stage. Troy's mother noticed them as they walked in and crept over to them.

"Troy… Gabriella… you finally came, what took you so long?" asked Troy's mother. Troy was about to reply but Gabriella beat him to it.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Bolton… it's my fault, I lost track of time," answered Gabriella for Troy, who flashed her a grateful smile.

"That's okay, I'm just glad you two agreed to do it… it's so nice of you and on your birthday to Gabriella… thank you," replied Mrs. Bolton and Gabriella just nodded in response, "Little Anna is our second last performer for today and you two are the last… so be ready to go up there quite soon."

Gabriella felt a sudden quickness in her heartbeat as a thought occurred to her, Troy noticed her change in demeanor and automatically anticipating what her problem was he whispered in her ear, "Just so you know… we're singing 'Breaking Free'. I know this is all very impromptu and I just thought that since we've had a lot of practice with 'Breaking Free'..."

Gabriella relaxed momentarily, _'How did he guess that that was what I was worried about...? He knows me so well…'_ Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of clapping as little Anna finished her poem and curtsied on stage. Gabriella tensed again, she wasn't very good at these things… she always felt nervous, even during the musical. Suddenly she felt Troy's hand in hers, giving it a squeeze and she instantly felt more confident… _'Just like he did when we did the musical_'.

"I'd just like to thank you all for coming here today to attend this concert and also for any donations that you may be willing to give us to help keep this place running for the children... And now we have a special performance for you… my son and his friend, who both recently starred together in the very successful East High Winter Musical, have graciously agreed to give up some of their time to treat us to a song. Unlike our children here, these two have had a little more experience so we should all be in for a beautiful performance," announced Mrs. Bolton to the crowd. She gestured her hand at Troy and Gabriella, "and without any further ado I give you Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez singing 'Breaking Free'!"

The audience clapped politely as Troy led Gabriella, by hand, up onto the stage, both being handed a microphone as they went up. They took their positions on stage, standing slightly apart as the music started playing…

(A/N: For this part, Troy's voice will be in **bold**, Gabriella's in _italics_ and both will be underlined… sorry if it's a little confusing)

**We're soaring… flying… there's not a star in heaven that we can't reach…**

_If we're trying… so were breaking free…_

**You know the world can see us… in a way that's different than who we are**

_Creating space between us… 'Till we're separate hearts…_

But your faith it gives me strength… strength to believe

**We're breakin' free**

_We're soarin'_

**Flyin'**

There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach

**If we're trying**

Yeah, we're breaking free

**Oh, we're breakin' free**

_Ohhh…_

**Can you feel it building... like a wave the ocean just can't control**

_Connected by a feeling… Ohhh, in our very souls_

**Very souls, ooohhh**

Rising 'til it lifts us up… So every one can see

**We're breakin free**

_We're soaring_

**Flying**

There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach

**If we're trying**

Yeah we're breaking free

**Ohhh we're breaking free**

_Ohhhh, Running_

**Climbing... to get to that place**

To be all that we can be

**Now's the time**

So were breaking free

**We're breaking free**

_Ohhh, yeah_

**More than hope, more than faith**

_This is true, this is fate… And together_

We see it coming

**More than you, more than me**

_Not a want, but a need_

Both of us breakin' free

_Soaring_

**Flying**

There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach… If we're trying

**Yeah we're breaking free**

_Breaking free… We're running_

**Ohhhh, climbing**

To get to that place, to be all that we can be… Now's the time

**Now's the time**

_So we're breaking free_

**Ohhh, we're breaking free**

_Ohhhh_

You know the world can see us… in a way that's different than who we are... 

The song ended and the crowd erupted into tumultuous applause for the performance given by Troy and Gabriella (just imagine an even more confident version of their performance in the film). Troy and Gabriella, meanwhile… just as every other time they had performed the song, barely even registered the existence of the crowd as both finding themselves lost in the eyes of the other…

**Okay, tell me what you think through a review… this means you, you readers who only read and don't review! This isn't give and take… this is give and take and give, lol… i.e. I 'give' you a chapter to read, you 'take' it and read it, and then you 'give' me back a review… lol! C'mon… how am I gonna know if you like it or not:)**


	6. Lunch with Cake & Orphans

**Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter, this one is pretty fluffy… I hope you enjoy it! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical, nor do I own any of the HSM characters.**

CHAPTER 6: Lunch with Cake & Orphans

Troy and Gabriella continued to stare at each other, faces inches apart…(at some point between the time that they sang the last lines of the song and a couple of seconds after the audience had started applauding, Troy and Gabriella had both moved in closer together). Gabriella couldn't tear her eyes away from Troy's and Troy couldn't tear his eyes away either… but he wasn't looking at her eyes, he was staring at her lips... _'Ohh… I really want to kiss her right now…'_

Gabriella could see where he was staring and felt the warmth flood to her cheeks. She could practically feel them turning a deep shade of red. _'Wow… this is intense. How do I keep finding myself here? So close… I could just lean forward…' _Gabriella felt herself leaning in closer, _'… but yet so far away? I'm right here and yet he or I can't seem to close the gap… something always gets in the way… but what's in the way now?'_ and that's when she suddenly sensed the eyes on her, watching her… watching both of them… so just as Troy leaned in further, ready to finally close the gap, Gabriella regained her awareness of the situation (they were about to share their first kiss in front of a room full of people who were watching them carefully) and stepped away, looking anywhere but at Troy… attempting to regain her composure.

Troy at first was surprised Gabriella moved away, surprised and disappointed… but then he too felt the eyes on him and looked around, remembering as well, where they were. Troy felt his cheeks burn, _'Oh how embarrassing, I can't believe we almost did that in front of all these people! How could I just forget they were there! … Actually Troy, you shouldn't be all that surprised about it… Gabriella makes you crazy and you know it!'_ Looking around again, his made eye contact with his mother, and his cheeks flushed redder… she was looking at him with raised eyebrows, the edges of her lips contorted to the beginnings of a smile.

Mrs. Bolton broke eye contact first, moving up onto the stage to conclude the concert, thanking the audience for the time, offering them light refreshments and then promptly reminding them to leave a donation for the Children's Home.

Once she'd finished with that, she turned to Troy, speaking quietly, "You two look pretty close… did breakfast go well?" Troy just blushed deeply and nodded.

"It was… almost perfect," he replied grinning to himself as he remembered what had happened... or nearly happened at breakfast.

"Good… Well we're all having lunch in there today," she said pointing through the double doors at a door across the hallway, 'if you and Gabriella still wanted to join us."

Troy nodded again and then asked, "Did you remember to pick up the cake?" to which Mrs. Bolton gave a quick nod.

"I'll have it brought out after lunch. Why don't you two head in there now, the kids have probably already started. I'll probably be stuck here for awhile with the donators."

Troy nodded and stepped over towards Gabriella, who was talking to one of the audience members. She had her back to him and as Troy came closer he distinctly heard the other person speak, "If you don't mind me asking… You and that young man sung very well together and you looked so nice together, any chance he's more than just your singing partner?"

Gabriella blushed a deep shade of crimson at this question, giving the person a nervous chuckle, "Haha… erm… Troy… Troy and I… we… we're just good friends… Best of actually."

"Oh really… I could have sworn by the way you two sung and looked at each other that… Oh well, never mind… good job anyway," said the donator, moving away to talk to someone else.

Gabriella let out a loud sigh, closing her eyes, _'Aaarrgh! I don't know how much longer I can take this…! I know it's there and I'm getting the feeling that so does Troy, so why can't we do anything about it! … I guess the right time, just hasn't come yet…'_

Gabriella let out a shriek of alarm as she felt someone lightly squeeze her waist, causing many people in the room to look at her. She heard a familiar laugh behind her and turned around to face Troy, hitting him on the arm as she did so.

"Ow… no need to hurt me Montez, geez," cried out Troy in mock pain, Gabriella smiled, she like it when he called her Montez… she didn't like being call Gab or Gabi by anyone other than her mum, which is why Troy never he called her either, but she did like Montez… _'I don't know why, but I love it when he calls me that… it's cute when he says it.'_

"Whatever Troy, if you didn't give me the fright of my life, I wouldn't have to," replied Gabriella matter-of-factly and Troy just laughed, "So what are we doing now? You haven't got any more nasty surprised for me, have you? … If you do you might as well tell me now."

"No, Montez… no more _nasty_ surprises, but a couple of good ones yet to come," he said mysteriously. Gabriella looked as if she was about to ask, but Troy cut in first, "But before we get to that… how would you like to have some lunch with the other stars of the concert?"

"Oohh, yes please! I'm starting to feel a little hungry!" replied Gabriella enthusiastically.

"Well, I'm not surprised you're hungry, since you chucked most of your breakfast at me this morning!" laughed Troy, taking her hand to lead her to the other room. Gabriella laughed too and stuck out her tongue at him as they walked across the hall to the other room.

"Ohh, again with the tongue poking… you know you're lucky it's your birthday… or you sooo wouldn't get away with that," said Troy, opening the door for her and following her inside.

Gabriella just shrugged, turning her head to flash him a cheeky smile and winked at him, causing Troy to almost melt on the spot. She then turned away towards the group of orphans sitting around a long table, who had all turned to watch them walk into the room. What she didn't see was the dazed look of awe that had appeared on Troy's face as his insides fluttered and he stared at the back of her head longingly. The orphans however… _did_ see it, and as he snapped back to reality Troy noticed some of them eyeing him with raised eyebrows and suggestive looks. He also noticed a couple of the girls giggling and whispering to each other, making Troy blush red as a tomato.

"Hello everyone! I'm Gabriella and this is Troy, some of you have probably already met him since his mum works here," said Gabriella introducing herself. She seemed to be ignorant of what had just taken place.

The kids all smiled and waved, many saying, "Hi" or "Hello". There were about 18 of them altogether, ranging in age from around 3 to 14, there were about 10 boys and all the rest were girls (obviously, lol).

"Well I just want to say that Troy and I really enjoyed the concert, even though we didn't see most of it… but judging from the fullness of the room, I think it was a pretty big success," continued Gabriella, flashing them a friendly smile, and glancing at Troy, prompting him with her eyes.

"Oh, right… yes, big success… it was… great," he added lamely, grinning sheepishly as Gabriella rolled her eyes at him, "Hehe.. well anyway, I hope you guys don't mind us joining you for lunch."

"Oh, no we don't mind…" spoke out Anna, the girl they'd seen reading poetry, "Mrs. Bolton told us to expect you and your girlfriend Troy."

Troy choked noticeable at her words, causing more giggling from the group, and a nervous laugh from Gabriella. He looked to see her blushing, and felt unsure as to how to reply.

"Oh… no… you guys, it's really not like that, me and Troy are just good friends…" replied Gabriella first, smiling unintentionally… she'd liked the way it sounded, _'girlfriend…'_

"Hah! Good friends don't stare at each other the way you two did!" answered a red-headed, young boy with freckles, and the rest of the group nodded in agreement, "I thought you two were going to start eating each others faces in there, for sure!"

Troy and Gabriella both gave out choked chuckles at this, making eye contact momentarily before both looking away, clearly embarrassed. An awkward silence ensued before Troy cleared his throat.

"Uh… yeah well… we're… just good friends," said Troy awkwardly, "Erm… well how about that lunch then… hehe, I'm famished! What about you Gabriella."

Troy turned to face Gabriella and she looked at him, catching his drift.

"Erm… yea… yeah I'm starving… let's eat!" she replied, rubbing her stomach, to prove she was hungry. She walked over and sat in an empty space next to a young girl in pigtails who looked to be about seven.

Troy nodded in agreement and sat down next to her, both of them reaching for food automatically, to avoid having to look or talk at each other or the orphans. Everyone else just exchanged glances at each other, rolling their eyes at the stubbornness of the two, to not see what they had right next to them, and went back to their lunch. Eventually, Troy and Gabriella relaxed and started chatting with the group. There was a lot of talking and laughter everyone telling funny stories and sharing information about each other.

"Well… Troy here is a basketball superstar, Captain of the East High team," explained Gabriella when one of the kids asked about them, "… although I don't know why, since his aim is totally off!"

Gabriella laughed and Troy's eyes widened in offence, Gabriella was of course referring to their muffin fight this morning.

"I already told you, I misjudged my strength!" cried Troy defensively. He poked Gabriella's side, causing her to jump and giggle loudly, and turning she punched him lightly on the arm. The two of them laughed at each other, forgetting that there were other people present.

"… yeah… good friends… sure… Whatever!" mumbled the red-headed boy, who's name was Billy, loud enough for everyone to hear. The others nodded in agreement, smirking at one another. Troy blushed and Gabriella laughed, both returning to their food.

After lunch, everyone continued to talk, Gabriella and Troy sharing various stories about how they met and the musical and how they changed the composition of the school hierarchy. Eventually Mrs. Bolton walked into the room, finally having good-byed the last donator.

"So I see you've all finished lunch and you're getting along well with Troy and Gabriella… I don't know whether any of you have thought to do so yet, but I just want to say a thank you to Troy and Gabriella for coming here today and making the day all the more successful. So why don't we give them a round of applause, as a thank you for helping us out?" suggested Mrs. Bolton, though everyone new she wasn't asking. Taking Mrs. Bolton's cue all the children started to clap their hands at Troy and Gabriella, all grinning widely.

Gabriella blushed as she heard someone say, "You two were sooo good!" and many others nodded in agreement. Mrs. Bolton waited for them to quiet down, before continuing.

"Also, I don't know how many of you are aware of this, but today just happens to be Gabriella's 16th birthday so it means all the more that she'd be willing to give up part of her day for us… And so as an extra thank you to Gabriella, Troy has graciously organized for a cake to be made especially, for all of us to share with her," finished Mrs. Bolton, as Gabriella's eyes widened in surprise and she looked over at Troy for some sort of confirmation. He merely gave her a small smile and motioned Gabriella with his eyes for her to turn and look in the other direction.

Gabriella turned and put a hand to her mouth in surprised awe as she saw someone bring in a large, rectangular chocolate cake and place it on the table in front of her. Gabriella looked down at it, the edges and sides were bordered and decorated with cream and strawberries, and on the top was written the words, 'Happy 16th Birthday Gabriella!'. There were also 16 candles of silver and gold, set up in two alternating rows of 8, along one of the smaller sides.

Gabriella turned to Troy, pulling him into a big hug and whispering in his ear, "Thanks so much Troy! It's wonderful, I love it!"

Troy grinned, hugging her back… he could feel his heart racing at their closeness and the feeling of her voice tickling his ear.

"It was nothing… thanks for agreeing to sing with me," he whispered back.

Gabriella pulled away, beaming at him and turned to see Mrs. Bolton lighting the candles. Once this was done Troy began singing happy birthday, to which everyone else followed suit.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you… happy birthday dear Gabriella… happy birthday to you!" they all chanted together and Gabriella blew out the candles.

Mrs. Bolton handed her a knife so that she could be the first to cut the cake and Gabriella took it, plunging the knife gently through the middle and pulling it down gently to cut the cake. She pulled the knife out of the cake slowly and seeing the bits of cake that had stuck to the edge of the knife a number of the children spoke out.

"Your knife didn't come out clean! So now you have to kiss the closest boy!" they cried, laughing happily at the embarrassed expression on Gabriella's face. Troy also blushed, realizing straight away that he was the closest boy.

When Gabriella didn't move, Billy cried, "You have to do it! It's a rule! Besides, you know you want to!"

Everyone laughed at this and the kids started chanting, "Do it! Do it! Do it!.."

Gabriella blushed deeply, not enjoying being put on the spot at all and she turned to Troy, who was trying not to look at her. They made eye contact and she bit her lip, giving him an apologetic smile. Then she leaned over and kissed him… on the cheek (she wasn't about to kiss him for real in front of all those people!). Troy blushed at her and they both looked away, while everyone else started laughing hysterically. Gabriella and Troy laughed at their ridiculousness and Mrs. Bolton took the knife from Gabriella so she could continue cutting the cake.

Everyone ate cake then, talking and laughing about the days events… there was much teasing made by several of the orphans referring to the relationship between Troy and Gabriella, the two of which decided to just laugh and ignore them.

After awhile Troy leaned over to Gabriella and whispered in her ear, "Do you want to get out of here? As much as I'd love to spend the rest of the day here with these guys and listen to them make comment after comment and joke after joke about us… I could kind of put up with doing something else instead…"

Gabriella giggled and whispered back, "I know what you mean… they all keep staring at us, wiggling their eyebrows or winking… I'm starting to feel like they're trying to tell us something."

Troy laughed, nodding and started to rise from his chair, Gabriella following his lead.

"Well everyone, this has been a lot of fun… I think Gabriella would agree that we've both had a great time," said Troy and Gabriella nodded in agreement, "but I think we better get going… it is Gabriella's birthday after all, and we had some other things planned."

"Yeah, thanks for having us… I had an awesome time hanging with all of you! I hope I can come back soon!" added Gabriella and the two of them waved and smiled at the group as they walked towards the door. The kids waved back, yelling goodbye and asking them to come back soon.

"Hey Troy!" yelled Billy and both Troy and Gabriella stopped and turned around, "You better make a move on Gabriella quick or someone else will!"

Troy felt his face heating up and he sent a glare at Billy, who laughed out loud, as did the rest of the group, and as did Gabriella, blushing slightly as she did so. Troy took Gabriella's hand, pulling her out the doorway before anyone else could make a comment, while Gabriella continued laughing and waving at the group.

Once they got outside, they fell into a comfortable step, walking side by side, Troy's hand still in Gabriella's.

"Sooo… What's up next? Or am I not allowed to know?" asked Gabriella, smiling at Troy.

Troy smiled back at her, silent as he thought about, "Um… you know what? I'll tell you… just this once... but only because I know you'll love it and you'll jump on me, hugging and shrieking."

He laughed and Gabriella hit him softly, her face registering a look of shock, as if to say she'd never do such a thing.

Troy paused for a second and leaned over to whisper in her ear, "I thought we could go to the mall for some shopping and possibly a movie."

Gabriella's eyes widened in joy and she jumped on him, hugging and shrieking… just like he said she would.

"The mall! Yay! Troy… you are the best boyfriend ever!" she squealed before realizing what she said, she blushed deeply as Troy's eyes widened in surprise, "I… I mean boyfriend as in a... a friend, who's a… a boy… erm…"

Troy laughed, squeezing her hand, "Its okay Gabriella… I know what you mean… you're the best _girlfriend_, that is friend who's a girl as well… Now let's go find that mall!"

**Hey! I hope you enjoyed this chapter… Be sure to leave a review because I got something special that I just know you're all going to love, coming up in the next chapter… so leave a review and I might just update! Also I know who's got this in their favs or on alert, so I'll know if you don't review! C'mon! You know you wanna…! ;)**


	7. The Mall

**Okay here's the next chapter everyone… I hope you enjoy! And don't forget to review! Tell me what you think!  
**

CHAPTER 7: The Mall

The walk to the mall was fairly uneventful. They continued to walk hand in hand, and at some point Troy surreptitiously intertwined their fingers… much to the delight of Gabriella who coyly pretended not to notice.

Troy and Gabriella spent most of the trip talking and laughing about the days events, however they both made a conscious effort not to mention certain aspects of the day…

It had become fairly apparent to both of them, what was happening. They were pretty much assured of the others feelings and yet it seemed that neither was willing or ready to be the one to finally initiate the first move…

They eventually reached the mall and walked in quickly, Gabriella pulling on Troy's hand as she moved automatically to one of her favourite stores…

Two hours, 8 stores and 5 shopping bags later, Troy was standing, idly flicking through a rack, as he waited for Gabriella to come out of a change room. He was slowly getting bored and tired, _'Gah! How can girls spend sooo much time shopping! It's so boring! What were you thinking Troy, for ever agreeing to take a girl shopping?' _

He continued to flick through the rack, not even paying attention to what he was looking through, his mind wandering… wandering over to the change room in which a certain object of his affection was currently changing her clothes. Soon Troy's mind became more imaginative with its thoughts as he imagined her _actually_ changing her clothes… he felt his throat constrict and go dry and he suddenly had a very distinct urge to go in and see for himself…

Troy immediately cursed himself for this thought, mentally slapping himself for being such a perve, _'Stop it! Have some self-control man! You're being a sicko right now! Gabriella will NEVER want you if you keep acting this way…' _Troy's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by giggling and he turned his head to see a small group of young teenage girls, huddled together, giggling and whispering to each other. He stared in confusion as he noticed they kept stealing glances at him, falling into greater fits of laughter as they did so…

"Erm… Troy…?" Troy turned to see Gabriella poking her head out of the change room, smirking slightly as she gave him a weird look, "… erm… why are you looking through a rack of plus sized women's underwear?"

Troy snapped his head around to look at the rack he'd been rummaging through, and felt himself blush a very deep shade of red as he realized he _was_ looking through a rack of women's underwear, it was even worse for him to realize that Gabriella was being kind when she'd described them as plus sized… Troy was a little scared to think who would actually need them _that_ size.

"… I… err… I wasn't! No! ... it… it's not how it looks… I… I just happ… happened to be lean… leaning on this rack… I… I… wasn't looking through it…" he replied nervously, his voice cracking slightly.

She raised her eyebrows at him slightly, stifling a giggle with her hand, "Um… Are you sure about that?" she asked. She took her hand away from her mouth and pointed at his hands.

Troy slowly bent his head to look down at his hands… he nearly died of absolute embarrassment, right then and there!. He blinked twice, hoping that it was all a nightmare, but when he looked again, the reality was still the same… there in his hands was an enormous pair of red satin granny panties. Troy eyes widened in horror and he looked back up at Gabriella to see her laughing hysterically, gripping the side of the change room door to stop herself from falling over. Troy hastened to stuff the article in question back on the rack and practically sprinted away from the rack like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"It's not how it looks, I swear!" cried Troy, closing his eyes and slightly wishing he was dead or somewhere else… anywhere else.

Gabriella laughed harder, tears forming in her eyes. She eventually regained some control and moved her hands up to wipe away the tears. She moved back into the stall, apparently forgetting why she'd wanted his attention in the first place, probably just to ask what he thought of her outfit, and exited again a moment later, back in her old clothes. She walked over to Troy, grinning as she struggled to maintain composure. Troy looked at the ground, still blushing a deep shade of red, his heart was beating like a jackhammer, _'Good God! Why did this happen to me! Why! And in front of Gabriella of all people!' _

Gabriella put her hand on his arm as she noticed how embarrassed he seemed…

"It's okay Troy, don't worry about it… I'm sure it happens to everyone…" she said, trying to calm him down. Her voice relaxed him somewhat and he looked her in the eye… they maintained eye contact for all of two seconds before Gabriella collapsed into another fit of hysteria.

"Hahahahaha… I'm sorry but I… I never realized that red was you're colour!" laughed Gabriella, holding her sides as she continued to laugh. Troy laughed nervously and stared back down at the ground… he couldn't believe this was happening! _'Why me?' _

"Ha-ha… that's sooo funny Gabriella… I never knew you were such a comedian," replied Troy sarcastically, looking away from her, pouting to hide his embarrassment.

"Aww… c'mon Troy! You know I'm only joking…" said Gabriella, finally calming down. She put a hand up to rub his arm, "Aww… is Troy a little bit upset?"

He glanced at her, containing a grin as she curled her lip in an exaggerated frown, "No!" he replied stubbornly.

"Yes you are… how about we get you out of here? I think you've had more than enough shopping for one day… let's go get some ice-cream," suggested Gabriella. She looked at him thoughtfully and added without thinking, "You know… you're pretty cute when you pout like that."

Troy glanced at her again, but this time couldn't stop a small smile from forming on his face. He couldn't stop it widening either when he noticed her blushing a little. He brightened up immediately, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the store.

"Come on! let's go find some ice-cream!"

They soon found an ice-cream store and a cone each. They then continued to walk through the mall enjoying their ice-creams in silence. Troy finished his first and sat down on a bench, waiting for Gabriella to finish hers. She sat down too, finishing the last bits of her cone.

They sat in silence for awhile, each getting lost in their own thoughts. Troy glanced at Gabriella and Gabriella caught his eye before he could move away… they soon found themselves staring openly at each other. Troy was looking at her thoughtfully and Gabriella wondered, _'Will this… finally be it?'_ Troy leaned in closer to her and moved his hand up near her cheek…

"Hey… you have some…" he started gently, moving his hand to wipe some ice-cream off the side of her lip.

His hand still at her cheek, he started to lightly caress her cheek with his thumb. Gabriella closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his touch… she could practically hear her heart beating… Troy looked down at her face, her eyes were closed, he knew she was waiting for him, he was absolutely certain that she wanted this as much as he did and he slowly leaned in thinking that now was _finally_ the time... he slowly closed his eyes and was about to…

"Troy! Hey Troy! Gabriella!" called out a voice and both Gabriella and Troy snapped their eyes open at the sound, both silently cursing the owner of the voice… _'Chad…!'_

They next heard the sound of someone else's voice, accompanying Chad's, reprimanding him…

"What are you blind! What is wrong with you! Don't you see what you just interrupted?" cried a voice that sounded like Taylor.

Troy and Gabriella turned to look at their friends, Troy glaring at Chad, Gabriella glaring at Taylor.

"What's up guys? Enjoying your birthday Gabriella?" asked the ever oblivious Chad.

"I'm sooo sorry you guys!" said Taylor, hitting Chad on the arm, "We swear we didn't know you guys were here… Chad just saw you two sitting on the bench and spoke before I could stop him."

"It's okay guys… really. Nothing was going to happen… Troy and I were just finishing an ice-cream," replied Gabriella a little sadly. Troy looked at her, crestfallen… _'Why do things keep getting in the way? … Stupid Chad with his crappy timing!'_

"So what are you guys up to now? You wanna hang out?" asked Taylor.

"No! Erm… no… actually… you know what? Me and Gabriella were just about to go in to a movie, so I'm afraid we're gonna have leave you two to it… sorry," replied Troy… not sorry at all.

"Cool a movie! I feel like a movie, how about you Taylor?" cried Chad, _really_ not getting the drift.

"Um… no you don't want to do that Chad… because… I… already agreed to let Gabriella pick a movie, and she picked a major chick flick… you wouldn't like it…" said Troy, trying again.

"Nah! That's cool Troy… I'm sure I'll last, I'm sooo bored I could do anything… me and Taylor are really only hanging out here until the pa.."

"NO Chad! Umm… we can't! … I just remembered we… have… to… be over there!" interrupted Taylor, yanking Chad away from Troy and Gabriella, "Sorry guys, I guess I'll see you two later…"

Troy and Gabriella waved at them as Taylor pulled Chad through the mall, other people watched them too, pointing and giving weird looks.

"Umm… that was… weird," said Gabriella after they were well out of sight.

"Haha… yeah it was," agreed Troy rubbing the back of his neck… he _really_ wanted to kiss Gabriella, but something was always getting in the way!

"What was Chad talking about anyway? Sounded like he was about to say something else…"

"Erm… no… no he wasn't… he… he was just being Chad…" replied Troy quickly and seeing the confused look on Gabriella's face he added, "So how about that movie, huh?"

"Oooh yes… the movie! The one you just said I that I'm allowed to pick…" said Gabriella, grinning, "Let's go then… I wanna see what there is to choose from…"

The two walked towards the cinema end of the mall, not really talking much, until…

"Oooh Troy! A photo booth! Come on, let's go get a photo!" cried Gabriella at the sight of the machine.

"Erm… no… I don't really… want to," he said uncertainly as Gabriella pouted at him.

"Aww… come on Troy! You have to… I can't go in by myself and besides…" she said, grinning at him with a winning smile, "… I have no more change for the machine… sooo… I kind of need you to… contribute…"

"Oooohhh… so nooow the truth is revealed!" replied Troy, shaking his head. Gabriella continued to pout at him and he felt himself giving in… Suddenly another idea popped into his mind and he decided to agree, "Oh okay… but only because I can't resist that pout…"

"What pout? … Oh you mean this one?" asked Gabriella pouting at him. Troy laughed out loud.

"Haha… Yes! That's the one…!"

"Well… I'll have to keep that in mind then," said Gabriella grinning, "Now come on! Let's go!"

She tried to pull him in but Troy resisted, "Wait! I'll only do this on one condition… _you_ let me keep one of the photos… and it's got to be any one I choose… no question!"

Gabriella looked at him, surprised at his strange request, "Erm… yeah sure…"

"Great! Then let's go!" said Troy, putting some money into the machine and dragging Gabriella in.

The interior of the booth only had one chair so Troy sat on it and Gabriella sat on Troy, putting an arm around his neck, while he put one around her waist. Troy's insides were squirming… he couldn't believe he was going to do this… he was hardly paying attention, so when the first photo flashed, his expression was surprised and slightly thoughtful, while Gabriella was beaming from ear to ear.

Troy snapped out of his trance after the first photo and turned to look at Gabriella… she felt his eyes on him and turned to look at him too. Troy took his chance before anything could stop him and quickly leaning in, he closed his eyes… pressing his lips against hers.

Gabriella's eyes widened in surprise… but then her mouth warmed to the feeling of his lips against hers and she closed her eyes too, kissing him back… this is when the second flash came…

Troy opened his eyes and slowly pulled away… Gabriella opened her eyes too and the both looked at each other, neither saying a word… that was the third flash.

Gabriella blinked as the flash startled her and she turned towards the front again, her face still emanating her shock… meanwhile Troy turned too, but his faced donned a happy smile… and the machine went off for the fourth time…

They continued to sit there together… still silent, both too afraid to speak for fear that they'd find, what they thought had happened, never happened or something. Gabriella got up first, since she was sitting on Troy, and walked out of the booth, her face still echoing her surprise, however now she had slight grin on her face… Troy followed her out, his face also contorted in a happy daze and the two waited in silence for the machine to pop out their photos.

When the photos were finally popped out, Gabriella reached for them, looking down at the four photos… in the first she was smiling, while Troy had a thoughtful gaze. In the second… well, the second is fairly self-explanatory… in any case Gabriella couldn't help but blush slightly at the sight of it, _'It looks so right… and… it felt so good…'_. In the third they seem to be gazing at each other and the fourth, looks kind of like the first, except their expressions have switched.

Troy reached out a hand to take them from her and Gabriella looked up at him. He looked right back at her… grinning slightly…

"We had a deal… remember?" he asked softly, and she nodded, remembering the deal.

He took the photos from her and looked at each carefully… he then bent the edges tearing them slowly so that he wouldn't ruin the actually pictures and took one of them, handing the rest back to Gabriella. Gabriella looked at the photos remaining and instantly realized which was missing…

"… Wh… Why do you want that one?" she couldn't help but ask… it was already her favourite.

"Erm… just because I like it…" he said answered her vaguely, "… Now how about that movie?"

**Okay that's it for now… Did you like this chapter? I finally let them… you know what, lol! Tell me what you think in a review!**


	8. Be my Girlfriend?

**Hey everyone! I'm really loving the reviews so thanks to all those who took the time! By the way it pains me to tell you all this, but I'm going away for a few days so I won't be able to update until at least Sunday or Monday… :( so be sure to review this chap and tell me what you think so that I don't lose inspiration while I'm away! Also I have started a new story, it's called 'Keeping it Together' the first chapter is posted, so check that out on my profile and tell me what you think… whether I should continue or not… :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or any of the HSM characters mentioned in this fic.**

CHAPTER 8: Be my Girlfriend?

Gabriella absentmindedly picked a movie, not really caring what it was… her mind was on still thinking about the kiss… it had been so unexpected and quick that her brain had trouble processing that fact that it had actually happened. Troy meanwhile didn't care what she picked either… he was off on his own little world, thinking about the kiss as well, a goofy smile was plastered on his face.

After buying some popcorn and a drink from the candy store, the two went into the theatre and took two seats somewhere near the back… some commercials came up on the screen and the two watched them vaguely taking in what they were seeing…

The two were so caught up in their own thoughts that they didn't even know what movie they were supposed to be watching… it didn't matter though, because neither was able to focus on the screen anyway… sure their eyes were directed towards the screen, but everything else was focused and acutely aware of the person sitting next to them.

The two continued to watch, vaguely absorbing what was being displayed on the screen… the kept trying to steal glances at each other... Troy would try to glance at Gabriella, or Gabriella would try to glance at Troy… most times they were unsuccessful in making this action covert as often their glances were met with the same action by the other… in this scenario both would smile an awkward goofy and look away.

'_This is sooo awkward… we can barely even speak to each other… I just don't know what to say to him,' _thought Gabriella, frowning at how awkward it was all becoming… at that moment Troy stole a glance at her and noticed the expression on her face, _'What's wrong with her? I can't stop smiling, and there she is frowning… didn't she want me to kiss her?' _Troy's heart beat faster as uncertainty wracked his brain… how was he to know if she had wanted him to kiss her… it seemed like they'd been on the brink all day long… he just assumed his overture would be accepted… _'Wait a minute… that kiss was sooo not all me… I felt her kissing me back! Of course she wanted the kiss! … wait… maybe she just got caught up in the moment… I mean, I did catch her by surprise… Ohhh I don't know what to think!' _thought Troy groaning audibly and running his hand through his hair…

Gabriella looked over at him, as she heard him groan, she saw an anguished frown on his face and she became immediately concerned… she looked down and saw his hand on the armrest gripping it tightly… Gabriella's instantly put her hand on his, giving him a gentle squeeze… Troy tensed instantly at her touch, his eyes first snapping to the direction of his hands before flicking over to look at Gabriella.

"…Hey…" she whispered, flashing him a gently smile and squeezing his hand again, "You okay, you don't look so well…"

He looked at her silently, his mind on the feel of her hand on his… Troy nodded, returning her smile and whispering, "Yeah I'm fine…"

Gabriella nodded back and moved to take her hand away, but as she did so, Troy gripped it with his own, intertwining them on the armrest and turning to look back at the screen, smiling… Gabriella's eyes widened in surprise at his action but she instantly relaxed, smiling as she looked at their interlocked fingers for a second before her eyes returned to the screen.

Judging solely on the reactions of the rest of the audience, the movie had been of the romantic comedy genre, and in the final scenes of the film, the onscreen lovers shared their cliché kiss… as it turned out, both Gabriella and Troy had actually tuned in to watch _this _scene… and both felt themselves blush slightly as the recalled their own kiss.

Their minds still miles away, neither of them even registered the ending of the film… the sight of the credits was enough to clue them in… and so they blinked in surprise when the lights were turned on and light spread throughout the room. Gabriella looked over at Troy, who just happened to be looking over at Gabriella… they shared another awkward smile… before Troy spoke out.

"I guess the movies over… did you like it?"

Gabriella didn't respond at first as she looked at him blankly, _'Um… How am I supposed to respond to this…? Err… I don't know Troy… I wasn't really watching, all I could think about was… you…! I can't say that!'_

"Erm… yeah it was great… did you?" she replied, nodding and smiling at him.

It was Troy's turn to hesitate this time as he thought about his response…

"Um… yes… it was pretty good for a chick flick…" he lied… he really had no idea if the film was good or not, he hadn't really been watching… He looked down at his watch and noticed it was already past 6pm… _'Oh… crap… I promised Ms. Montez that I'd have Gabriella home by 7pm… we better get going… she can't be late for the…'_

"Troy…" said Gabriella interrupting his thoughts, "it's already past 6 o'clock, we better get going, my mum's expecting me home for dinner…"

"Um… yeah, that's what I was just thinking… we better get going," he released his grasp on her hand reluctantly, as he stood up, bending down to pick up Gabriella's shopping…

"Ohhh… Troy, let me carry some of that… I don't want you to have to carry all my stuff," she cried as she saw what he was doing.

"No Gabriella… its okay… You're the birthday girl, remember? Now what type of bo… friend would I be if I let you carry your shopping on your birthday," answered Troy, blushing at his near mistake… he had forgotten in all the excitement, that they were still not official… he'd have to do something to change that soon.

"Well thank you Troy…" replied Gabriella, giving in, she had noticed his near mistake, but chose not to bring it up… "You are an excellent… friend."

Troy smiled at her and they both walked in silence out of the mall. The walk home was fairly uneventful and silent… a comfortable silence. Gabriella let the memories of the day wash over her… it had been a good day, a wonderful day… and it was all thanks to Troy, she looked over at him and smiled… he was looking straight ahead, clearly lost in his own thoughts… she wondered what he was thinking about…

"What're you thinking about, Troy?" she asked, voicing her thoughts.

Troy looked over at her, blinking as he was snapped back to the present… _'I was thinking about how I should go about asking you out… making us official…' _

"Erm… nothing… just thinking about today…" he replied, which was half true… he couldn't stop thinking about today, it had been a great day.

Gabriella nodded in agreement… "Yeah… thank you sooo much for today Troy… it's been absolutely wonderful… I can't believe you planned all that stuff for me… you're a wonderful boy, Troy…"

'_How could I _not_ do all this for you Gabriella…? You're the one who's wonderful… in fact to me you're perfect…'_

"It was nothing Gabriella… what're best friends for?"

Gabriella smiled and walked on… before they knew it they were at her doorstep…

"Well I guess where here… thanks again for today Troy, you've made today one of the best birthday's I've ever had…" she said quietly, and Troy smiled gently at her.

"Hey… like I told you before, it was nothing really…" replied Troy. He breathed in deeply as he gathered the courage to say the words he said next… "Well we better get you and these bags inside… I think your mum has a special surprise for you… but before we do… Do… do you mind if I ask you a question?"

He looked at her anxiously, as he waited for her answer… Gabriella had a feeling she knew what he was going to ask, and her heart started racing.

"Um… yeah Troy… what's on your mind…?"

Troy stepped closer to her, so he was standing close in front of her and looked into her eyes…

"Okay… well Gabriella I just want you to know, you're the best friend that I've ever had, and grateful everyday for the friendship that we share… I'm so glad I met you at that ski lodge… in fact I find it hard now to imagine a life without you in it…"

Gabriella, blushed at this, smiling… _'That's sooo sweet… I feel exactly the same way!'_

"…Um… you're like the smartest, kindest, most wonderful person I know… and on top of all that your beautiful and fun… I love spending time with you… it's one of my favourite things…" continued Troy.

He had leaned closer to her as he was speaking and she had leaned closer too… they were now inches apart and Gabriella could feel Troy's breath on her cheek as he spoke.

"I think about you all the time… I can't get you off my mind… so I just want to ask you now… Will you be my girlfriend?"

Gabriella looked at him, a smile spreading across her face…

"I was wondering when you'd get around to asking…" she replied grinning, "How's this for an answer?"

Gabriella leaned in to kiss him softly, Troy smiling and leaning in also… they closed their eyes, and just as they were about to seal their second kiss… the door opened…

Gabriella and Troy's eyes snapped open as they jumped apart and snapped their heads over to see Ms. Montez, standing at the doorway… a slightly embarrassed grin on her face.

**There you have it… another chapter gone… haha… they're still not official… but will that change next chapter? You'll have to wait and see… Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**


	9. SURPRISE!

**Hey! It's me again! Sorry for taking so long to update everyone… but I think you'll find it was worth it… I really like writing this chapter and I think you're going to like it too!**

CHAPTER 9: SURPRISE!

Gabriella shut her eyes momentarily in frustration, _'You have got to be kidding me! Two seconds! Two seconds is all I needed! Thanks a lot mum!" _She looked over at Troy, who was staring at the ground, a slight blush on his cheeks. Gabriella turned to look at her mum, putting on a half smile.

"Hey mum…" she said, slightly glumly.

"Hi honey… I'm not interrupting something, am I? It's just I thought I heard you two out here, so…" replied Ms. Montez, unsure of what to say.

"It's okay mum… you're not interrupting… we were just… we were…" started Gabriella, slightly embarrassed.

"Erm… I-I took Gabriella for some shopping and a movie, and well we just arrived back here…" continued Troy, not really looking at anyone… _'Why does this _always_ happen? Why can't we have like two minutes alone, without anyone or anything interrupting?'_

"Yeah… erm… Troy was just going to bring in my shopping… but... you know what?" said Gabriella turning to look at Troy, "… I think I can take it from here… I'm sure Troy's got plenty of other things to do… thanks a lot for today Troy… it was wonderful…"

Gabriella held her hands out for Troy to pass over her shopping bags and Troy looked up at her, uncertainly…

"Well… um… actually… I-I don't… I-I was going to… erm…" Troy looked over at Ms. Montez, silently appealing for her help… Gabriella was unintentionally sending him away.

"Actually Gabriella… I thought Troy could stay around for a bit… there's something I want to show you…" spoke up Ms. Montez, looking over at Troy, and Troy thanked her silently. Ms. Montez just smiled at him, before turning back to Gabriella, "Come on honey… there's something that you should see…"

Gabriella looked at her mother and then over at Troy… she was unsure of what was going on, but she was fairly certain they were both in on it… Troy was looking away again… suddenly fascinated by the glow from the front light. Gabriella rolled her eyes at him, wondering what he could possibly be up to now, before turning back to follow her mum inside, Troy following after. Her mum led her down the hall and over to the direction of the lounge room, Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows in confusion… _'Why are all the lights off?'_

"Mum… how come there aren't any lights on-."

"SURPRISE!" yelled several voices at once, causing Gabriella to jump back in fright… jump back right into the arms of Troy, who held onto her to stop her falling over.

Gabriella clutched onto Troy with one arm, putting the hand of the other up to cover her racing heart. Her action was met with waves of laughter as everyone laughed at her reaction to the surprise… she looked up at Troy to see him grinning at her, laughing along with everyone else… Gabriella turned back to look at everyone… the whole group was there Taylor, Chad, Kelsi, Jason, Zeke, Sharpay and Ryan.

Gabriella disentangled herself from Troy, walking forward towards the group, a smile spreading on her face as her initial shock was replaced by realization, _'Oh wow! A surprise party!'_. She looked around the room, suddenly noticing the decorations… there were balloons floating in the air, and a big banner reading 'Happy 16th Birthday' in big colourful letters.

"Oh my goodness! You guys! You didn't have to do all this for me!" cried Gabriella, putting a hand to her mouth in shock.

"We know we didn't, but we wanted to… we know you haven't been in Albuquerque long and we're probably the closest friends you have so… we wanted it to be special!" replied Taylor, on behalf of the group.

"Oh my goodness… thank you all so much! It's fantastic, I love it!" said Gabriella, walking forward and pulling Taylor and the other girls into a hug.

"Really Gabriella, it was nothing…and well… as much as we'd like to take credit for all of this… it was really all Troy's idea…" spoke up Kelsi, after Gabriella had released them from her hug.

"Yeah… we really only came to set the place up, while Troy kept you busy for the day… so you should really be thanking him…" added Sharpay, grinning broadly.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows at this, and whipped around to face Troy.

"You… did this…? This was your idea?" asked Gabriella quietly, walking slowly towards him. Troy dropped Gabriella's shopping next to the wall and took a slow step toward her, shrugging his shoulders slightly and nodding.

"You really thought this whole day through… you planned a whole day for me and also planned a party too… all for me…" Gabriella now stood right in front of him… looking into his eyes… the rest of the room was silent, watching the interchange between the two, 'almost' sweethearts.

They could have been as noisy as animals in a zoo, for all the notice Gabriella and Troy took though. They had completely forgotten that anyone else was in the room. Troy looked at her silently… tracing her features with his eyes… he shrugged again, not trusting himself to speak.

"The card… the breakfast… the concert… the mall… and now… this…" continued Gabriella, almost whispering now.

A small smile spread onto Troy's lips as a thought occurred to him.

"I didn't plan everything… I didn't plan the photo booth…" he said softly, blushing slightly, "… that one was a spur of the moment thing…"

Gabriella giggled slightly as she remembered the photo booth… she subconsciously brought her hand up to her lip, running her finger along it as she remember the feel of Troy's lips there… Troy watched her, as she caressed her lip… he was barely breathing now, his heart was thumping… he wanted so bad to just kiss her right there.

Gabriella looked at him, her eyes locked with his… she slowly moved her finger from her lip and put her hand up to touch his cheek… she could feel her heart pounding as she slid her fingers gently down his cheek, before allowing them to trace a soft path along his lips the same as they did hers, just a second before.

If Troy wasn't breathing before… he definitely wasn't now… he closed his eyes momentarily as he felt Gabriella's fingers on his face… his skin heating to her touch. He felt her hand brush back up to cup his cheek and he opened his eyes to see her lean slowly towards him… he could feel her breath, soft on him, as she opened her mouth to whisper…

"Troy… my answer is yes… I'd love to be you're girlfriend…"

Troy felt his heart stop at her words, a smile playing softly on his lips. Gabriella smiled too… moving her hand up behind his head and pulling him towards her. Troy stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and gently pressing their lips together. Gabriella brought up her other hand to lightly caress his cheek, before wrapping both her arms around his neck… deepening the kiss as she did so.

The two stood there, together, kissing in the middle of the room… having blissfully forgotten that they shared the room with eight other people… all of whom had stood silently, watching the whole display…

**Wow… that was a little intense, lol! Tell me what you think in a review everyone! I love hearing from you all!**


	10. The Party

**Hey! I'm so sorry everyone, for taking so long to update! I just got really busy and couldn't find the time… anyway, this chapter is quite long so hopefully it will make up for my absence!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or any of the HSM characters mentioned in this fic.**

CHAPTER 10: The Party

"Wow…" whispered Troy as he and Gabriella parted slowly, he couldn't think of anything else to say… in fact he couldn't think at all.

"Yeah…" she whispered back, smiling softly… Troy felt himself smile too…

Troy moved to lean in again, but he was interrupted by the sound of people coughing and clearing their throats loudly.

He and Gabriella looked at each other in confusion, and the two turned to see the rest of the group, watching them awkwardly. _"Oh man! I totally forgot they were there! Did we just do what I think we did, in front of all of them?"_ thought Troy, groaning inwardly.

Gabriella too, was experiencing a silent heart attack, she looked around the room at her friends gawking at her, _"What were you thinking Gabriella! I can't believe you just did that! And in front of every- …Oh my god!" _Gabriella's eyes widened in horror as her eyes fell upon her mother, looking at her with raised eyebrows… Gabriella felt her cheeks redden and she shut her eyes, hoping she was dreaming… when she opened them again she was not surprised to find that it was not in fact a horrible dream.

An awkward silence descended upon the room, as know one was willing to be the first to speak… Gabriella and Troy glanced at each other, swapping embarrassed smiles… Troy was the first to look away, focusing his attention on a spot on the wall and shoving his hands in his pockets. Gabriella looked down at her hands, fiddling them together in a shy manner… she looked back up at the group and gave them an embarrassed grin.

"…Hehe… He-hey guys…" Gabriella gave them a small wave and chuckled nervously, "… sooo… wha-what's happening?"

"What's happening? Uh… I don't know… I think you might be able to answer that better than me," replied Taylor, raising an eyebrow and smirking at her. The rest of the group looked at Gabriella, waiting for an answer… Troy looked over at her too, curious about how she would reply.

"Hehe… erm… I-I don't know wha-what you're talking about…" said Gabriella, trying to be dumb.

"Oh you know very well what we're talking about Gabriella… " spoke up Sharpay, staring at her pointedly, she too was grinning, "Come on… spill!"

"… Oh… erm… you mean… us…m-me and Troy?" asked Gabriella, waving her hand between herself and Troy… the rest of the group nodded at her vigorously, impatiently waiting for her to continue, "… hehe… well… erm… nothing..."

"Aww… come on Gabriella! Even _I _know that's a lie! We practically just saw you two try to eat each other's faces!" cried out Chad loudly, causing Gabriella and Troy to blush uncontrollably. Troy shot Chad a glare and Taylor slapped the back of his head causing Chad to cry out, "Ow! What! What did I say?"

No one responded, they just rolled their eyes at him before turning to look back at Gabriella and Troy.

"Okay… let's just cut to the chase… are you two… like together?" asked Ryan curiously before adding, "Well obviously, you're something, we did just see you two…kiss, but officially?"

Gabriella and Troy looked at each other, looking for an answer…. Gabriella was looking at him nervously, Troy saw her softly bite her lip…he could feel his heart melting, _"She's sooo gorgeous…"_ He smiled at her softly, taking her hand in his and caressing it softly with his thumb.

"Yes… we're together… officially…" answered Troy, turning to look at them and grinning uncontrollably.

Troy laughed, as his answer was met by several shouts of applause by the boys, and squealing by the girls, he saw Ms. Montez stare at him silently, before nodding her head and smiling at him… Troy smiled back. He looked over at Gabriella, who was grinning and laughing at her friends, he squeezed her hand and she turned to him smiling.

"Well, it's about time! Some _playmaker_ you are Troy, it took you long enough!" cried Kelsi, to a wave of laughter from everyone else.

"Would you care to explain how all this came about?" asked Taylor, much to the curiosity of everyone.

It was Gabriella's turn to answer, and she looked at all her friends one by one, scratching her head thoughtfully as if she was trying to think of an answer… she looked at them cheekily before replying…

"Um… no, not really…" she laughed as her friends cried out in disappointment, "… Haha… enough about me and Troy, let's get this party started!"

She walked over to the stereo, putting some music on and cranking up the volume. All her friends laughed and started dancing to the music… Gabriella saw her mother walk out of the room towards the kitchen and so she quickly excused herself and followed her mother out of the room.

"So you and Troy a couple now, eh?" asked her mother, raising her eyebrows at her as Gabriella walked into the kitchen and sat on a stool.

"Erm… yeah…" Gabriella looked at the bench top, she still felt awkward about the fact she'd kissed Troy in front of her mum, "Wha-what do you think about it?"

"Well… I think… my little baby girl… isn't such a baby anymore… but that's something I have to deal with… because you are growing up and there's nothing I can do about it… and as much as I wish you wouldn't date boys until you were at least 25…" Gabriella's head snapped up at this and she looked at her mother alarmed, causing her mother to chuckle softly, "I think that if you must have a boyfriend… I'm glad it's Troy…"

Gabriella's felt herself break out into a smile and she ran over to her mum, hugging her tightly.

"Oh, thank you mum! You don't know what it means to me to have you're approval!" Ms. Montez just laughed, hugging her back, "I _really_ like him mum…"

"Yeah I know… I think he likes you too…" replied her mother, chuckling softly as she remember seeing the two of them together this morning.

"You better get back to you're party Gabi… they're waiting for you in there… I won't bother you guys too much, I'll just be in here fixing up some more food for you and you're friends and I'll check in on you all time to time."

"Thanks mum!" cried Gabriella, hugging her mum again before walking back into the loungeroom.

----

Gabriella walked back into the living room to one of the strangest sights she'd ever seen... there was Chad, lying on the ground, writhing around like a lunatic, his hands and legs were shooting out all over the place and Gabriella couldn't help but fear slightly for his safety… the feeling past quickly however as she acknowledged that he was just Chad being… well Chad. Gabriella walked over to the group, who had surrounded Chad and were laughing at him… the boys were even egging him on.

"Um… What's Chad doing?" Gabriella asked Taylor, who was standing there shaking her head and rubbing her forehead with her hand as if she had a headache.

"Oh… he's… uh… trying to break dance…" replied Taylor looking at her.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows at her disbelievingly… that certainly wasn't what it looked like to her… it looked more like he was having an epileptic fit.

"I know it doesn't look like it, but he is… well… he's trying to anyway," said Taylor, answering Gabriella's silent question, "…all he's really doing though, is embarrassing the hell out of me!"

Gabriella nodded her head slowly, before asking,

"Um… okay... so he's trying to break dance… but… why is he doing it to 'I Turn To You' by Christina Aguileria?"

Taylor just shook her head again, shrugging her shoulders, "…because he's Chad…" to which Gabriella just nodded again and said no more.

Thankfully the song ended soon after as did Chad's haphazard attempt at breaking dancing… Taylor's frustration continued full swing however.

"Chad Danforth… if you _ever_ embarrass me like that again, I swear I'll dump you quicker than a dog's breakfast!" yelled Taylor, attempting to smack him, while Chad dodged her flailing arms.

The rest of the group looked on laughing… another song had already begun and the movements of Taylor and Chad seemed to bizarrely fit the song, making them look like they were actually dancing in rhythm.

"As far as their dancing is concerned, I think fighting is a good thing for Taylor and Chad," yelled out Jason above the sound of the music, much to the laughter of the rest of the group.

"Haha… even so… they can't beat _my_ moves!" yelled out Zeke, pulling out some seriously sweet hip-hop dance moves that put Chad's attempt to shame.

"Oh man Zeke… those are some cool moves you got there! Where'd you learn to do that?" yelled Troy, clearly impressed.

"Dude… I'm black… it just comes naturally… it's like its genetic or something…" cried Zeke, pulling Sharpay in to dance with him.

"…But… how does that explain Chad?" asked Jason pointing at Chad, who was now on the floor, apparently trying to do the worm, but looking more like he was doing the beached whale.

The whole group laughed as the watched Chad and laughed even harder as the saw Taylor trying in vain to get him to stand up.

"…because he's Chad!" replied Zeke, causing everyone to nod in understanding, before joining in the dancing.

They danced on for a good while longer… eventually starting up a dance competition over who could dance the most embarrassingly… Chad won, hands down… while Taylor won the honorary award for the most exaggerated reaction to an embarrassing moment… **(A/N: I won't go into details… just use you're imagination, lol)**

Ms. Montez walked came in eventually… with an exquisite looking cake… Gabriella looked over at it and her eyes immediately opened in wonderment at the sight of it. The cake was chocolate, just like the one Troy had brought for her at the orphanage, but that's where the similarities stopped… this one was much more elaborate… it had two round tiers, with a swirling border, and a beautiful arrangement of chocolate dipped strawberries coming down one side… **(A/N: I know I'm not explaining it well… if you want to see it, I've provided a link on my profile page)**

"Oh my God… it's…" started Gabriella, clasping her hands to her mouth.

"…beautiful…" breathed Kelsi, Sharpay and Taylor at the same time.

"Oh… wow… did… did you make this?" asked Gabriella quietly, staring at her mother, who was smiling at the expressions on everyone's faces.

"… Heaven's no! Look at this thing! I'm flattered that you think I'm capable… but it was someone very experienced who made this…" replied Ms. Montez chuckling as she gently placed a solitary candle on the top.

The group crowded around the cake, as Ms. Montez lit the candle, Taylor and Sharpay, gently pushing Gabriella forward.

"Happy Birthday to you… happy birthday to you… happy birthday dear Gabriella… happy birthday to you…" sang the group jovially, as Gabriella blew out the candle.

Ms. Montez handed Gabriella a knife and Gabriella looked at it reluctantly… she didn't know if she could bear to pierce the cake… it was such a nice cake… She slowly placed the knife against the top of the first tier, on the side away from the strawberries and was about to gently slide the knife in but Chad spoke out…

"Don't forget… if the knife comes out dirty, you gotta kiss the nearest boy…" he cried in a sing song voice, snickering like a silly kid. Gabriella chuckled quietly, Chad reminded her of Billy from the orphanage… she looked up at Troy and smiled as she saw him blush, he seemed to remember too…

"What are you so excited about Chad! You dimwit, you're the nearest boy! Is there something you want to tell me?" Taylor looked at Chad with eyebrows raised and her hands on her hips.

"Wha- I thought Tro… God no!" yelled Chad as he looked around and realized he really was the closest boy, "Ew! She's like my sister!"

Chad almost sprinted away from Gabriella, running over to stand beside Taylor and pushing Troy towards Gabriella as he did so.

"What are you doing man! That's your zone, why aren't you protecting it!" cried Chad, unintentionally earning roars of laughter from the rest of the group, and a small chuckle from Ms. Montez.

Troy and Gabriella both felt themselves blush, they were being put on the spot again… Troy stood there awkwardly… he didn't really want to be there… sure he wanted to kiss Gabriella again, but not while their friends were gawking at them like they were now… that had been embarrassing enough the first time… then again, he also didn't want Gabriella kissing any of the other boys either. He looked over at Gabriella, only to find her staring at him… he stared back…

Gabriella gently plunged the in the knife, still staring at Troy… she pushed it through the surface of the cake, pushing down until she felt the knife tip hit the bottom, before sliding the knife edge down to slice the cake. Troy could feel his heart beating… her stare was intense, and he felt his insides burning with anticipation… he was no longer sure which outcome he would prefer.

Gabriella hesitated before pulling out the knife… her heart was beating too… she wanted to be close to Troy again, they'd subconsciously been avoiding each other ever since they'd announced their union… they hadn't liked the attention they were getting from their friends… but she also didn't want to kiss him in front of her friends… and her mum…

Gabriella slowly proceeded to pull out the knife… she wasn't even looking at it… she was still staring at Troy… subconsciously she heard gasps and murmuring coming from her friends and she dreaded the thought of looking down at the knife. Eventually, she did so slowly, and Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief when she found the knife was clean… _"Oh, thank God… now I don't have to do anything!" _

Troy breathed too… in fact he started to hyperventilate a little bit, as his body attempted to suck in much needed air… he hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath.

"Aww! What was that! Since when does the knife ever come out clean!" cried out Chad, outraged, "It's been rigged! I demand a re-cut!"

The group laughed at him… before quieting down awkwardly… a little disturbed by the fact that Chad was so keen for the knife to come out dirty.

"Er… Chad… why does it matter so much if the knife comes out clean?" asked Ryan, voicing everyone's thoughts…

"Yeah Chad… why are you so interested?" added Taylor, eyeing him suspiciously.

Chad just eyed them all in confusion… he didn't understand what they were getting at.

"What! I just like seeing Troy squirm… Troy the _playmaker_… always in control… it's funny to see him embarrassed and unsure… and Gabriella's the only one who seems to be able to do that to him."

"Gee thanks Chad. You're the best friend ever… a real wall of support… thanks a lot..." grumbled Troy sarcastically, he rubbed the back of his neck in distraction… Chad was right for once… Gabriella had a strange ability to render him completely senseless.

"Yeah… no prohlm... you kgno I ger fogr goo…" replied Chad unintelligibly… his mouth full of cake, much to the surprise of everyone, especially Ms. Montez who hadn't even given out any cake yet.

"…Chad… how did you…" started Kelsi before stopping herself… some things were better left unknown.

They all ate the cake in relative silence… Chad consuming several slices in the same time as it took the rest of the group to finish just one.

"Oh, Chad… be careful… you'll make yourself sick…" Ms. Montez looked at him worriedly… the cake was rich and filling and she wasn't sure that it was a good thing for Chad to eat so many, so fast.

"No mum... its okay… he'll be fine…" said Gabriella reassuringly before winking at her friends.

"…because he's Chad!" they all cried out together, laughing. They looked over at Chad and saw him wolfing down another piece.

After the cake, were the presents… Gabriella went through each gift… smiling happily and enjoying every one… she got a ruby bracelet from Taylor, a bottle of Pink perfume by Victoria's Secret from Ryan & Sharpay, a columbine leather journal from Kelsi, apple scented jar candles from Jason, a box of Summer Flower chocolates from Zeke, a floral art glass paperweight from her mum and from Chad…

"Um… thanks Chad… but what is it?" asked Gabriella quizzically, holding up his gift… it looked like a little electronic game device, but she wasn't sure what to do with it. **(A/N: I've provided links to all the gifts on my profile if you want to check them out)**

"Oh, it's awesome! It's 20 questions… you just think of something, any object or anything… and it will give you a series of yes or no questions… you have to answer yes, no, unknown, or sometimes and it will eventually guess your object… it's genius!" rambled Chad excitedly.

Gabriella looked at the gift curiously, nodding her head slowly in understanding.

"Hey… Gabriella…" Gabriella looked up from the toy at Chad, "Can I play? It's so awesome!"

"Uh… yeah… sure Chad…" replied Gabriella, eyeing him in surprise.

"You dimwit Chad! I knew I shouldn't have left you to buy Gabriella's present on your own… look what happens! You end up buying a novelty gift!" cried Taylor in frustration.

"What! You said to get something that would be an awesome gift... what's the problem?"

"I meant an awesome gift for Gabriella, not an awesome gift for you!" Taylor smacked herself in the forehead, frustratedly, "God Chad! This is almost as bad as the water bombs you bought me for my birthday!"

"What do you mean? The water bombs were totally awesome… I had sooo much fun with them…" said Chad, grinning as he remembered the water bombs.

"That's exactly what I mean Chad! You bought me the gift so _you _could play with it! When you buy someone a gift, it's supposed to be for their enjoyment, not yours! …Imbecile!"

"It's okay Tay… really… I think it's a very… interesting gift… thank you Chad…" spoke up Gabriella, trying to hold back her laughter.

"You see? Gabriella likes it!" cried Chad. Taylor just rolled her eyes at him, "It's not like it's the worst gift she's received… um… erm… Ooohh! I know! What about Troy? We don't know what Troy got yet… maybe it's even worse than mine!"

"I doubt it… I don't think Troy could be as hopeless as you!" sneered Taylor.

Her words caused Troy to blush a deep crimson as he remembered the gift he'd given Gabriella this morning… Gabriella looked over at him and couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.

"What? What's so funny Gabriella?" asked Sharpay, looking at her confused, as Gabriella laughed out loud… this only caused Troy to feel even more embarrassed.

"Oh… um… nothing…" replied Gabriella, stifling her giggle. The group looked at her quizzically and Gabriella felt compelled to continue, "Well it's just that… I already know what Troy got me… he… uh… gave it to me this morning…"

"Well what's so funny about that? I bet it was really sweet… what was it?" asked Kelsi curiously and everyone else leaned in to hear also. Troy felt like hurling himself at a wall.

"Um… well… you're right… it was very… uh… sweet… and thoughtful…" Gabriella glanced over at Troy, before continuing, "He... uh… he gave me a pen…"

The group stared at her, disbelievingly, eyebrows raised… meanwhile Chad started laughing uncontrollably.

"Hahaha… a pen… awesome! Hahaha… that's a good joke!" he said, wiping his eyes, "What did he really get you?"

"Hehe… um… I-I wasn't joking... it was very sweet… he put a lot of thought in it…"

"A lot of thought? How much thought goes into buying a pen?" asked Jason confused.

"Hey! It's Delta Solaris rollerball, it's refillable so Gabriella can keep it forever and… and I got her name engraved on it!" cried out Troy defensively.

"Um… okay then…" said Zeke looking around awkwardly… the rest of the group followed suit.

"Yeah guys… it's a great pen… I love it!" Gabriella said, smiling at Troy… Troy smiled back, feeling only a little bit better.

"Whatever you say Gabriella…" said Chad, before turning to Taylor and whispering audibly, "See… I told you my gift wasn't the crappiest!"

Troy put his hands up in the air in frustration, rolling his eyes at the same time…

"Okay… can we just drop it already? I have another gift as well but I'll give it to her lat-," cried out Troy without thinking… he quickly stopped himself, cursing silently.

"Wha-what? You have another gift?" asked Gabriella, surprised.

"Uh… uhm… n-no-ye-n-ye-yes…" replied Troy doggedly… he could see Gabriella was about to ask something else, so he quickly changed the subject, "…Oh man! The conversations really dragging now… isn't it? How about we put some music on, eh?"

He got up quickly and walked over to the stereo, turning it on… he turned to Chad.

"Hey Chad… come on and show us more of your moves!"

"Yeah okay man! You see? I knew you liked my moves!" cried out Chad, ignoring Taylor's outcries, and moon-walking… or attempting to moonwalk over to Troy.

"Hey Zeke, you come to! And Jason as well, and make the girls join in to!" yelled Troy, above the sound of the music.

He walked over to Gabriella, who was still eyeing him curiously.

"Hey… come and dance, I know you love it!" he said grinning at her and holding out his hand.

Gabriella grinned back… she knew it would be a waste of time to question him about the apparent gift… so she decided she'd just have to wait and see. She took his hand and allowed him to pull her over to join the others…

**Okay… chapter is over… I don't know about this chapter so please tell me what you think! … Oh and I've got some bad news… next chapter will be probably be the last chapter… (sobs loudly) I've had sooo much fun writing this fic, so thank you all for reading! I do have some sequel ideas in my head but I'm not too sure just yet… what do you think of a sequel? Tell me what you think and I'll give you a bit more info about my ideas at the end of next chapter:)**


	11. The Perfect Birthday

**Hello everyone! I've finally updated! I know I've made you all wait and I'm sorry… Also… this will sadly be the last chapter for this fic… so sorry for that too… Hopefully though, I somehow managed to make this chapter both worth the wait and a worthy ending to this story… I really enjoyed writing this and I just want to thank everyone who sent a review... especially Brishty, Zanessa Fan, Randomly SmuRfy, HSMHP and LuvHighSchoolMusical who reviewed either all or most of the chapters! Oh and that reminds me, special message to Zanessa Fan… I was finally able to watch that performance thing, and I think it was awesome! Thanks for sending me the link… I don't think I actually thanked you before so thanks anyway.**

**Okay I think that's all the formalities out of the way… so how about we get on with the chapter, eh? I hope you like it:)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or any of the HSM characters in this fic… **

CHAPTER 11: The Perfect Birthday

Everyone had a great time during the party, even Taylor, despite the sizeable embarrassment she consistently declared that she had sustained from the continued public antics of Chad…

The group had continued to dance and party for hours more, Chad choosing to show off his dance prowess through a number of different dance styles with some… interesting combinations of music… he went through combinations such as belly dancing to 'Window Shopper' by 50 Cent, all the way to attempting an Irish River dance to 'Promiscuous' by Nelly Furtado… in fact Chad got so into his River dance that he shed his pants so only his boxers remained and wrapped his jacket round his waist as a makeshift kilt.

"CHAD! Why the heck did you take your pants off?" screamed Taylor horrified, as everyone else looked away in embarrassed amusement, "Are you insane? How many times were you actually dropped on your head as baby? And more importantly… how many times have you hit your head since?"

"What? I just created myself a temporary kilt… I'm doing the Irish River dance here, a kilt makes it more genuine…"

"What are you talking about! They wear kilts in Scotland not Ireland! That's a completely different country!"

"Really? Are you sure? Isn't it that little one, that's shaped like a boot?"

"That's Italy!" yelled Taylor, shrieking in frustration, while Chad just shrugged and continued to jump up and down, kicking his legs out, on the spot, in what he called an 'Irish River dance'.

Taylor just looked at him, shaking her head and muttering to herself, "Oh God… What did I ever do to deserve this cruel and unusual punishment?"

The other boys were all laughing uproariously at the scene that had just unfolded, while the girls attempted to look sympathetic for Taylor, each making an abysmal attempt at stifling their giggles.

"Aww… Taylor… it-it's alright…" said Kelsi, gagging slightly on a choked chuckle.

"You know what Chad's like… he's just Chad… being Chad…" added Gabriella, hardly containing her smile, "… you know that he doesn't mean any real harm… he's just enjoying himself."

"Yeah I know… it's just sometimes he can be a little over-the-top… you know?" replied Taylor, looking at them… and all three of them nodded in agreement… yes he certainly could…

"Well don't worry Tay, because like Gabriella said, he's just being Chad… and anyway he's definitely livened up the party…" said Sharpay, "You can't pretend like you don't find his antics at least… a little amusing… can you?"

Taylor hesitated slightly before looking down… "Yeah you're right… he is quite amusing… I guess I'm just over-reacting a little…"

"Yeah a little, but that's okay… if Zeke ever did anything like that I'd be never forgive him…" said Sharpay, earning herself a glare from Gabriella and Kelsi, "What? What did I say?"

"Come on Tay, let's go dance… you should just relax and enjoy the evening…"

The girls started to move to join the boys, all of them now smiling, but were stopped in their tracks at the sight in front of them…

"Oh my… wha-what're they doing?" questioned Sharpay, as all four of the girls exchanged shocked glances.

"I-I… I don't know… it looks like they're doing the…" started Gabriella.

"… Waltz…?" they all finished together, once again exchanging glances and raised eyebrows.

In fact they were right… it would seem that Chad's antics had rubbed off on the others… there were Troy, Zeke, Ryan and Jason striding around the room, waltzing with invisible partners, to the highly mismatched beat of 'Pump it' by the Black Eyed Peas… Even more shocking than this, as the girls soon found was that Chad was not joining in… in fact Chad was standing to the side on a chair, apparently directing the movements of the other boys; he appeared to be… teaching them… or rather… bossing them around…

"No Jason, keep those arms wider apart… it looks like you must be dancing with a toothpick, right now! Larger strides Zeke, move those long legs! More bend in the knees Troy, and keep you back up straight! ... Keep those canteen lady arms up there Ryan!"

"Hey! I don't have canteen lady arms!" cried Ryan, slightly offended.

"Whatever! Just keep them up there!" cried Chad impatiently. He glanced around the room and grinned as he spotted the girls, watching them… "Oh look boys! You've got actual dance partners here, just waiting to be paired up!"

"Ah… no… I don't think so..." spoke out Taylor, while the other girls shook their heads.

"Okay, Troy! You take Gabriella! Zeke with Sharpay! Jason with Kelsi! And Ryan can have Taylor, while I direct you all from here!" cried out Chad, completely ignoring the outcries of the girls.

The boys walked to their assigned partners, grinning broadly and encouraging the girls.

"Come on girls! It'll be fun! Just let yourself go!" said Ryan, taking Taylor's hand.

"But it's so embarrassing… eugh… the waltz? That's like the dance the grandparents of my grandparents danced to!" complained Sharpay.

"Just don't worry about it… us boys have been thinking… and we decided that Chad has done sooo much to make a fool of himself already that nothing any of us could possibly do, would be anymore embarrassing…" declared Troy as he spun Gabriella around…

"Troy's right… plus we're all doing it together so no one will know about it but us… let's just have fun with it!" added Gabriella, wrapping her arms around Troy's neck, pulling him close and smiling up at him. Troy smiled too, staring down at Gabriella as he ducked his head in closer.

"Gabriella! Troy! That's not the right stance! This is a dance, not a make-out session! Troy you should have one hand on Gabriella's waist and the other outstretched and intertwined with Gabriella's! And Gabriella you should have your other hand on Troy's shoulder!" yelled Chad, shaking his head in annoyance before muttering to himself, "… amateurs…!"

Troy and Gabriella laughed out loud at Chad… as did everyone else… the song that was playing soon finished but the group continued to waltz, under the orders of Chad, to Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie".

The group danced around for a couple more songs after their waltz, freestyle this time, before deciding to end the night… Gabriella bid them all farewell, receiving a hug and a final greeting from each… only Chad was reluctant to go… well actually, Chad and Troy, but Troy's another story all together. Chad pouted like a little boy at Taylor whining,

"Aw… Tay… can't we stay just a little longer…? Just one more dance… I'll teach you guys how to do the tango!"

"No Chad! You don't even know how to do the tango! And plus you have no more students!"

"Gabriella and Troy are still here!"

"Gabriella lives here and Troy is probably, just about to leave, right Troy?"

"… Uh… yeah… well… I-I was going to help Gabriella clean up a little first… but yeah I won't be long…"

"See Chad? You don't want to stay and clean up do yo-" But Chad was already out the door before Taylor could finish, she shook her head, looking back at Troy and Gabriella and giving them one last wave, before walking out of the house in the direction of Chad.

"Oh, Troy… you don't have to stay to clean up… I'm sure there's not that much mess… mum and I can handle it…" said Gabriella softly, putting a hand on his arm as Troy bent to pick up an empty soda can.

"No Gabriella… don't be silly… I think your mum has already gone upstairs and I don't want you to have to clean up after your own party… you might as well go and take you presents up to your room and change into your pajamas or something, because I'm not letting you do anything down here," replied Troy firmly, shaking off her hand gently, "Go Gabriella… I promise I'll come up and say goodnight before I leave."

Gabriella sighed, realizing that there would really be no arguing with Troy about the matter. She looked up at him gratefully, _"he truly is wonderful to me… the best boyfriend ever…" _Gabriella smiled to herself as she thought this… _"I really can call him my boyfriend now!"_

"Oh okay… but you better not break your promise… if you leave without saying goodbye then… then… we're over…" warned Gabriella, trying to look serious.

Troy raised his eyebrows at her in surprise.

"Already? We've barely even started yet! That would have to be a breakup record for sure!" cried Troy perplexed.

Gabriella only laughed at him, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek before walking towards the stairs… she turned back to eye Troy sternly…

"Don't forget! You've been warned!"

Troy smiled to himself as he watched her disappear up the stairs, leaving only her shadow, which was also gone a second later… he brought a hand up to touch the cheek that Gabriella had kissed just a second before… he could still feel the warmth there… just like he could still smell her perfume, lingering in the air… Troy felt a weird tingling in his stomach, one that had become more and more of a common fixture since the time he'd first met Gabriella… he was falling deeper and deeper… and he knew it… but he didn't care... because he'd known it was inevitable since the day that she transferred to East High. Troy smiled to himself again, before shaking his head and getting back to the matter at hand.

Gabriella leaned against the railing of her balcony… looking out at the darkness of her yard. She had already changed into her pajamas and said goodnight to her mother, who she'd met on the way up. She now looked out at her surroundings, but saw nothing… partly because her it was dark and partly because her mind was wafting over the events of the day… it had truly been a wonderful birthday… maybe the best one yet… no… definitely the best one yet… and all because of Troy. Gabriella grinned to herself as she thought of Troy… Troy had done and planned so much to make her birthday special... he had really gone all out for her...

Troy was definitely the most wonderful boy she'd ever met… and Gabriella couldn't help but feel a vary apparent nervousness in her stomach when Troy was around… his gaze made her body tingle and a simple touch sent goose-bumps up her spine. She'd never felt this way about anyone before…

"Gabriella?" the sound of Troy's voice aptly snapped Gabriella out of musings, and she whipped around to see Troy leaning against the door frame of her balcony door.

"Oh, Troy! I didn't know you'd come in… how long have you been standing there?"

"Not long… I've finished downstairs… it looks livable now…"

"Thanks again Troy… you really didn't have to do all that…" said Gabriella softly, walking over to stand in front of him… "I really don't know how I'm going to repay you…"

"It's okay Gabriella… I really didn't mind…"

"But it's not just the cleaning… this whole day… this whole day has been absolutely perfect… I have to thank you somehow…" said Gabriella, smiling suggestively, as she stepped even closer to him.

"Well… yo-you… don't have…" started Troy, as Gabriella reached her hands up to his neck and started to pull him closer… "Wait! Not yet!"

Gabriella stopped her movement and looked at him in confusion… uncertainty flashing through her eyes… "Wh-why not? Do-don't you want me to?"

Troy looked down at her, alarmed at how she must have interpreted his reaction… "No, no! That's not what I mean! Of course I want you to!"

"Then… why?"

"… Uh… because I don't think your day has been absolutely perfect yet…"

"Huh? What do you mean…?" Gabriella looked at Troy and smiled softly, "Troy… you've made this day the most wonderful birthday that I've ever had… there is nothing you can do to make it any better…"

"Well… actually Montez… I believe there is… I have another gift for you…" said Troy as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a thin, rectangular box… almost identical to the one he'd given her this morning.

Gabriella looked at it skeptically and couldn't help but chuckle slightly…

"It's not another pen, I promise…" said Troy guessing Gabriella's thoughts.

"Well what is it? A pen case?" laughed Gabriella as Troy pretended to glare at her. **(A/N: Credit to Zanessa Fan for the pen case joke… although I have half a mind to actually make that the gift… just to torture you all, lol! But I won't be that cruel)**

"No… it's not a _pen case_! You better watch it Montez, or I won't let you have it at all and then you'll never know what it is!"

"Oh okay… I'm very sorry Troy… I'm sure it's a very lovely gift, whatever it is… may I have it now please?" asked Gabriella, flashing him her most winning smile.

Troy watched her for a moment, before shaking his head and chuckling to himself.

"Hmmn… you know most days that look would work for you… but not today Montez… I think you need to do something extra special…" Troy thought for a moment, looking back and forth from the box in his hand to Gabriella, "Okay Montez… in order to get this gift… you must say the following words out loud… 'Troy Bolton is the best and most handsome boyfriend in the whole entire world!'"

Gabriella felt her heart start to thump at his words… and the butterflies declared war in her stomach… _"He actually said it! He said boyfriend… I know we're official and everything already but it just sounds so fantastic to hear him say it out loud."_

She looked up at Troy, who was still waiting for her answer… she smirked to herself as she noticed he looked kind of nervous.

"Troy Bolton is the best and most handsome boyfriend in the whole entire world!" parroted Gabriella obediently and Troy grinned at her handing her the gift.

"Well it's just as well that I actually am your boyfriend now, or this gift would be awkward to give you…" commented Troy, causing a confused look from Gabriella, "I gave you the pen this morning because it represented our relationship then… you know, best friends… this gift however… this gift I wanted to give to you to represent the relationship we have now… and I want you to keep it forever as a memory of today… of when he finally became a couple."

Gabriella felt her insides rack with anticipation… Troy's words made her nervous, _"What could be in this box?"_ Gabriella slowly opened the box and lifted the lid…

Gabriella opened the lid of the box and looked down at the object the lay embedded in the cushion of the box… her eyes opened wide in both awe and surprise and she brought up one hand to cover her mouth. Her head snapped up to look at Troy, and he chuckled at the surprise that was etched across her face.

"Well?" prompted Troy, when Gabriella failed to make a sound, "Do you like it?"

Gabriella looked up at Troy who was eyeing her expectantly.

"Oh… I love it… it's beautiful Troy… thank you so much..." Gabriella looked back down at the gift, where it still lay inside it's box… a gold, heart shaped locket, with a small star sign embedded in its middle.

"Why don't you take it out of the box… there's more to it then you think…" said Troy, once again sparking Gabriella's curiosity.

She slowly pulled it out of the box, running the chain through her fingers… as she pulled out the end, Gabriella noticed what Troy must have been talking about… there attached to the lock on the chain was a thin gold slab… and as Gabriella brought it up closer to the light she saw that it had writing engraved upon it…

"Gabriella… I think- no, I know that this is how I really feel…" whispered Troy, looking at her softly… Gabriella looked back at him for a second before looking back down at little gold bar so she could read the writing…

_For Gabriella, _

_I love you, _

_Troy_

Gabriella gasped and snapped her eyes back up to look at Troy, the question in her eyes. Troy nodded… and Gabriella felt her heart flutter…

"Yeah I do, Gabriella… I love you… I think about you all the time… and… and I probably wouldn't have done all this for you today if I didn't," whispered Troy.

"I-I think I love you too…" replied Gabriella just as softly and Troy smiled at her happily…

"Okay Montez… now you can go ahead and thank me," said Troy grinning and Gabriella smiled too, as she leaned in to kiss him softly.

Troy was the first to pull away and he looked down at her, a goofy smile playing on his lips… of course he tried to take it off, but it just kept on coming back, causing Gabriella to giggle heartily at him.

"Err… Do you want me to help you put it on?" asked Troy, still trying to control his facial expressions.

"Um… yeah… but… what shall I put in it? It holds two pictures doesn't it? So… one of you and one of me?"

"Uh… yeah that could work… only… you actually only have one space left… I may have filled the other already…" replied Troy, looking away.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows at him and looked back down at the locket, flipping it open immediately… She gasped slightly in surprise as she looked down at the picture of the two of them… kissing in the photo booth.

"I told you I wanted it to remind you of today and how we got together…" said Troy matter-of-factly as he took the locket from her and spun her around so he could put the necklace on.

When he was done, Gabriella turned back around, wrapping her arms around Troy's neck, while he wrapped his around her waist. Gabriella looked up at Troy and smiled. She leaned in closer to him as if she were going to kiss him but just before their lips grazed each others, she whispered softly,

"I think I can now officially say that this was the perfect birthday…"

THE END

**Okay… well it's all over… so what did you all think? I really wanted to make this chapter the best chapter that I could… hopefully I achieved that, I don't know… I'll have to wait and see what you all have to say… **

**So I really enjoyed writing this story and I'm a little sad it's over… however I do have many ideas about a sequel… or possibly sequels… hmmn… what could I possibly mean by the plural? Well I'll tell you… I'll tell you in a special "Sequel Proposal" that I'll post on the end of this story as if it were an additional chapter… it's not however! This fic is over, I'm just going to post a sequel proposal on the end, sometime in the next couple of days… so I won't yet mark it as complete… in any case I probably won't start the sequel for quite awhile… the HSC starts for me next month and I want to get much further along in my other story… but I'll see how it goes…**

**Anyway… thank you all so much for reading! I really appreciate it, and leave a review I think they're awesome! **


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